#the poor man would spontaneously combust

[manygeese]

ok we’re so back guys (shoutout to @demigod-shenanigans)

Piper and Leo’s Book Club

Piper was lingering near the doors of the library, waiting for a certain best friend of hers to arrive for book club. They’d joined it after the great schedule fiasco, taking weeks to settle on a club to share with each other. At one point, they’d had a conspiracy board laid out in Piper’s bedroom, with a list of clubs, their pros, and cons on it.

YEARBOOK CLUB

PROS: looks good on college applications

CONS: child labor

COOKING CLUB

PROS: for all ye poor souls who have not family and consumer sciences

CONS: Piper has never touched a pan in her life and may spontaneously combust

LGBTQ+ CLUB

PROS: like minded individuals

CONS: we were going to join this anyways and we need something ✨special✨

Finally, they found one they could agree on:

BOOK CLUB

PROS: media literacy!!! hell yeah

CONS: ain’t none (honorable mention: nerdy as fuck)

So there Piper was, at one end of the campus while Leo had to make his way over from the other one, on a hot August day. Piper flipped through the pages of her book, which she had narrowly finished before the meeting, hoping to whatever gods were real that nobody asked her comprehension questions about it. She was barely awake when she had read the last few chapters of it last night.

Two figures turned the corner, making Piper look up from the book to see who it was. She scoffed when she made eye contact with Leo. “Took you long enough!” She yelled, putting her hands up to her mouth to make the sound travel farther (not needed; his eardrums would have burst either way).

“Oh, I’m sorry your highness, I had to haul my ass all the way here from the 100 building. That’s like, 17 miles,” he hollered back.

Jason laughed from where he walked next to Leo. Shucking off one of the backpacks hanging off his shoulder, he handed it to his boyfriend, who hugged it to his chest. Leo leaned up to give him a peck on the cheek. “Thanks for carrying it, babe. Have fun at football practice.” Leo fell into his spot beside Piper and waved goodbye as Jason continued walking.

“Bye, Leo. Bye, Pipes.” Jason waved back.

“Bye, Jason,” Piper and Leo said at the same time. “Jinx. Jinx again.”

They squabbled over who had to buy who a soda as they entered the library, lowering their voices to whisper-shouts when they noticed nobody else was nearly as loud.

“Oh, by the way, did you read the book? ‘Cuz I sure as hell didn’t,” Leo drawled, slamming his backpack down on a random table. Piper followed suit.

“You had two whole weeks, man.” Piper eyed him judgingly.

Leo rolled his eyes in a fashion that looked painful. “And those two whole weeks were used to study for my first multicultural literature test, idiot.”

“How does one study for a literature test, hmm? Does one, mayhaps, read?”

“I hope you get Juliet in the play so I can watch you die.”

Piper laughed a little louder than was appropriate. “Ok, but what were you really doing? Because I know for a fact that you never study.”

Leo held his hands up in surrender. “You caught me. I was, like, a quarter into the book yesterday afternoon when Nyssa came in asking for help on a project. She was building a model for her world geo class, something about replicating the Parthenon, so naturally I accepted. I didn’t spend hours listening to Annabeth yap about Greek culture for noth-“

“Hi, Annabeth!” Piper greeted cheerfully, looking between Leo and the girl coming up behind him.

“Did I say yap? I meant expound. Expound elegantly and gracefully, which I am forever grateful for.” Leo turned around quick as a flash, gesturing theatrically with his hands to explain himself.

Annabeth had a smirk on her face as she flopped her book bag down next to theirs. “I’m glad you liked my expounding, Leo.”

“Always, smartypants.” Leo sent a few finger guns her way. She returned them half-heartedly. “Actually, could you take a look at the blueprints? Nyssa was kind of uncertain about the details. Apparently she doesn’t trust me. Tragic.”

“Tragic, indeed.” she said, pulling her reading glasses off of the collar of her forest green sweater. “Let me see.”

~*~

Piper was stuck among various kinds of nerds, she thought with a bored sigh. Annabeth and Leo, obviously, were geeks. Annabeth’s friend Malcolm was so clearly a dweeb. And Piper herself was a dork by proximity.

It was nearing the end of book club, around 3:00. Leo had somehow bullshitted his way into getting others to think he read the book, while Piper and Annabeth had squealed about how cool the premise was. Piper talked about the sustained metaphors, Annabeth rambled about the imagery, Leo tried to derail the conversation to discuss what happened in his fifth period, Annabeth shushed him, Piper shushed him, Malcolm shushed him, Leo grumbled under his breath about them being no fun, so on and so forth.

The librarian shooed them out of the library at 3:05, fretting about a meeting of the school committee of something or other in 10 minutes. Piper and Leo gladly left the premises, with Annabeth heading out to study with Malcolm at Town Center.

“I’m gonna go watch the football practice. I think Hazel’s there, too, should be fun if you want to tag along,” Leo offered, already walking backwards towards the football field. He swung his backpack back and forth, having not yet put it on.

Clang, said the support pillar that Leo ran into.

“You should really stop walking backwards,” Piper stated after she stopped laughing. Leo rubbed at the back of his head, giving her a glare.

“Fuck you. I meant it when I said I want to watch you die.”

Piper pulled out her phone and opened her text messages. “Sorry, my dad’s already here for pickup. Have fun watching your himbo boyfriend work out, you sap,” she spat as she ran out to the parking lot.

“I’ll tell him you said that!”

[kneelingshadowsalome]

Howdy howdy howdy!!! 🫶 🤠 I NEEDED to pop back in and let ya know I’m a little feral over the innocent/inexperienced reader with the toxic king (aka wrecker of worlds, seriously wtf he must be stopped) asks. BECAUSE and hear me out guys, I need konig absolutely rotting in this new hell and about to spontaneously combust with sweet little reader who hasn’t let him hit yet, who just wants to lie down with him on a sofa or bed and shes just humming along, tracing over his arms or chest or abs perfectly innocently while chatting about her day. And meanwhile konig’s mind is sounding the nuclear explosion warning and the man can’t BREATHE and reader goes to rest her little head on his chest and immediately pops back up like bro are you ok, your heart is going to explode 👀

Konig, trying desperately to not be a horny menace, with clenched fists and gritted teeth, white knuckling the whole time: ja, totally fine, this is how I relax

So I’m all for torturing toxic konig with fluff since homeboy doesn’t know how to act and he deserves to suffer through oblivious sweet reader 👍👍

I also feel like we’re all in the worlds dirtiest book club lmao and I AM HERE FOR IT

Howdy my man, I'm so happy to hear from you!!

And oh my goodness. Wrecker of worlds?!? He does need to be stopped! Unfortunately, that’s not going to happen in our dirty little book club ^^

Of course this woman’s appeal only increases in König's eyes when she makes him work for it. She’s morally superior to any woman he’s ever met so yes, his heart is about to explode (along with his cock).

And what’s even worse is that she calls him 'cute' and 'sweet'. Probably thinks he’s just shy under that hood when he’s simply trying his best to act normal and not smother her during another cuddle session that leaves him blue balled.

König starts to build up so much resentment. This woman must be torturing him for some sick, feminine entertainment purposes... Does she think he’s just a toy she can play with after ten, eleven, twelve dates? What kind of a demonic temptress even does something like this to a poor, lovesick man?

But no… She wouldn’t do that, she’s far too innocent and far too sweet. He’s just letting the beast inside him get the better of him again... Poor girl doesn’t even know that there’s practically a demon inside this hood.

But then he gets riled again when she invites him to her place and has the audacity to put on a romantic movie. There’s even a scene where the leading couple is kissing in the rain. This is literally worse than being captured by the enemy and being tortured for days.

She sneaks her hand into his and squeezes softly while the couple on the screen are kissing slowly while they're drenched, everything’s so sensual, and all he can think about is how he's supposed to disguise the swelling cock inside his pants as he imagines himself and the sweet girl beside him in that scene. Those wet sounds wouldn't even compare to the ones that would rise were he between her legs with his mouth…

[lady-lostmind]

lamb part 4

part one

part two

part three

read on ao3

Rating: E (eventually) | CW: Vampire!Eddie so probably like, blood and stuff.

He can’t sleep. Not a god damn wink. He tosses and turns in Steve’s bed for hours. He’s exhausted. Well, mentally, at least. Otherwise he’s fucking wired. His body feels like it’s buzzing. If he stays still too long his limbs start twitching and burning until he relents and flips over again. He just wants to sleep. To shut off the world and pretend none of this is happening. Just for a little while. But apparently vampires don’t fucking sleep. 

He gives up the fight and pulls himself out of bed with a groan, resigning himself to a very long night of pacing instead. He walks the floor of Steve’s room over and over. His mind runs through every possible scenario he could be facing. Because, like…there’s a lot of shit to deal with now. 

Top priority on his mind: What the fuck is he going to eat? Or….drink? He’s on a liquid diet now, apparently. So…drink. What is he going to drink? Because fuck if he can stand his throat feeling like this for much longer. No way can he stomach the idea of…biting someone. Not to mention how dangerous that would be. He has no idea what will happen if he gives into that urge. What if he kills someone? But then, what other options are there, really? Biting into some poor defenseless animal? 

And then there’s the rest of the whole…vampire thing. If the fangs, blood thirst, no reflection and no sleep are all true, what else is? Is he going to spontaneously combust if he walks into the sun? Turn into a fucking bat? Okay. That would actually be really badass. He grew fangs. Why not some wings? 

Fuck. How is he going to…live? Even if he figures out how to navigate being…this now, he can’t hide out in Harrington’s room for the rest of his life. But, he’s wanted for murder, and is supposed to be dead. 

Eddie stalls his pacing as he reaches the door, letting his head thump against the wood in a steady beat. Maybe he actually is dead and this is hell. Doomed to be stuck in Steve Harrington's plaid nightmare for all eternity. 

A soft knock sounds from the other side of the door and Eddie stops his thumping.

"You okay in there?" Steve's voice sounds heavy. 

Eddie glances around until he spots a clock on the bedside table. 3:07am. Shit. He must have woken him up. 

"All good, Harrington. Sorry for disturbing your beauty rest." 

Steve stays silent for a minute and Eddie thinks maybe he went back to bed. Then he hears the click of the lock on the door and the sliding of a chain. He scrambles back from the door not wanting to be that close to Steve when he opens it. 

"Don't come in Harr–" But it's too late. Steve is standing in the doorway in nothing but a pair of old worn sweatpants.

Eddie's tries to hold his breath, hoping to avoid the overwhelming scent that filled the room as soon as the door swung open. He scrambles backwards onto the bed, trying to put as much distance between them as possible. 

Steve's eyes go wide as they trail over Eddie and he realizes he's still only in a pair of Steve's underwear. Steve's eyes catch on Eddie's sides and chest. Right. Bat chew toy. 

"How the fuck?" Steve sounds baffled. 

Eddie glances down at the mangled scars on his torso, and then over to Steve who he now notices still has bandages around his middle. Steve pulls one off of his side and reveals a cluster of stitches, still fresh and healing. 

Eddie shrugs. “Perks of being undead, I guess?” 

Eddie chuckles at his own joke and reflexively sucks in a breath afterward, not realizing his mistake until–

“Fuuucckk–Harrington.” Eddie’s eyes roll back as Steve’s scent wraps around him and sets him ablaze. Every inch of him tenses up, ready to strike, ready to sink his tee– scratch that. Fangs. He has fangs now. Because he’s– Eddie shakes his head and backs himself further into the corner, trying desperately not to breathe. “You have to get out of here, man.”

Steve sighs, crossing his arms over his chest. “You won’t hurt me, Eddie.”

Eddie rolls his eyes and groans, scaring himself when his voice shifts into what is unmistakably a growl. But Steve doesn’t even flinch. Just stays where he is, staring Eddie down. 

“We have to figure out what to feed you. You can’t be in pain like this all the time.” 

Eddie squeezes his eyes shut and tries to focus on something other than the raging fire in his throat and chest. “Please, go.” 

Steve sighs again like he wants to argue. But then Eddie hears him back away, and the lock slides back into place. Eddie slumps against the wall and presses his palms into his eyes with a groan.

–

Eddie is staring at the ceiling wondering just how long someone can be stuck with their own thoughts before they actually go insane when there’s a loud knock on his door, making him jump. 

“EDDIE! Are you okay?”

Eddie sighs. “I’m just peachy, Henderson.” 

Eddie hears the chain lock slide and he leaps up, shaking his head. “Don’t, Dustin!”

“EDDIE, WE HAVE TO FIGURE OUT WHAT ALL THIS MEANS!” He sounds annoyed but doesn’t open the door. Slides the lock back in place with a sigh.

Eddie flops back onto the bed. “We have to talk through the door, okay? The whole point of me being in here is to keep you on the other side of the door from the monster, man.” 

There’s a tense silence, and then it’s Steve’s voice that comes through the door. “You’re not a monster, Eddie. We’ll work something out okay?”

Eddie sighs, flopping back down against the pillows. “Whatever you say, Harrington.” 

–

It’s been two days since he woke up from what should have been his eternal dirt nap. They haven’t made much progress. He’s not really even sure what progress they’re supposed to be making. So far it seems like it’s mostly Eddie refusing to let them open the door unless he’s locked in the bathroom, and Steve insisting on bringing him three meals a day even though Eddie says all the food smells rotten and makes him gag. The one time Steve convinced him to take a bite of a sandwich he managed to get it down but it tasted like ash in his mouth. 

It’s almost noon when Steve knocks lightly on his door and Eddie sighs heavily. “Hang on, let me get in the bathroom.” 

Just as Eddie gets the door shut he hears Steve come in the room, catches a whiff of his sweet blood as he moves around the room and it sets his throat on fire. It’s getting worse, the longer he stays here. Every time Steve comes in Eddie spends the next hour writhing in pain and fighting the urge to rip his way through the door to get to him. 

Eddie groans, pressing his forehead to the door and pulling on his fingers so they don’t do something stupid like open the door. Maybe pin Steve to the wall and force his head to the side. Sink his fangs into taut skin until red flows over into his mouth and–

Eddie groans again, clawing at his throat and rolling his head against the door. “Hurry, Steve.” 

He hears Steve fumbling around in the room, picking up his pace. “Sorry, sorry! I’m going.”

Eddie hears the lock click on the bedroom door and slumps against the door. He’s locked in again. He didn’t eat Steve. Everything is fine. He takes a deep breath, savoring the less Steve saturated air before opening the door and stepping back into the room. 

He’s hit with the usual overwhelming scent of Steve, but is also assaulted with something foul. 

“AUGH– What the fuck–” His eyes land on a big glass sitting on the nightstand full of dark red. Eddie grimaces as he picks it up and takes a big whiff. It’s blood. No doubt about it. And his throat flares even more with the proximity, his fangs aching in his mouth. But it smells off. Nothing like the way Steve’s blood smells. 

He sighs, walking closer to the door. “What the fuck is this, Harrington?”

“I got blood from the butcher…thought it was worth a shot.”

Eddie stares down at the cup in his hand with disgust. But the pain in his throat is almost unbearable. He closes his eyes and brings the cup to his lips, taking a small sip and letting the thick liquid coat his tongue. The taste is sharp, almost sour. It doesn’t quite hit the spot. It’s not really refreshing the way he thinks fresh blood would be. Human blood would be. But it’s close. And it douses the flames in his throat.

Eddie lets out a low groan and licks his lips. “Oh, fuck.” He takes in a big gulp, and then another until he’s drained the glass and blood is dripping from the corners of his mouth and onto his chest. It’s like he can feel the difference the blood is making. Like his whole body is buzzing. 

He hears Steve shifting on his feet outside the door. “Was it uh– good?” 

Eddie huffs out a laugh. “It wasn’t…bad.” 

Steve lets out a breath of relief. “Good, good. I have more. Do you uh– do you need more?”

Eddie licks some of the blood from the corner of his mouth, but shakes his head. Feels steady. “No. I’m good for now.” 

Eddie sighs and stretches, relishing in the first real relief he’s felt in his throat since he woke up. part five

[iknowshocker]

What do you think Kai would be like as a boyfriend if he had a genuine/healthy bond with someone?

For being one of the funniest characters in tvdu, I don’t think we ever even saw someone laugh at one of his jokes, so I’ve always been curious what it would’ve looked like if just one person matched his energy or at least accepted him

oh my goodness, i love this queeeestiooon!

let me just quickly out myself by saying if you lined up all the TVD men and told me to pick, kai would be my one and only choice. 🙈 my love for him horrifies my husband but i stand behind my witchy woo man 🫡

first thank you !! for saying he's funny !! you're right no one really appreciates his humor in the show and its one of the silliest choices imo. like you can admit the scary man has jokes, guys, it's not going to kill you. (oof sidenote but him and Jo having the same humor/picking on each other is one of my fav things!)

if he was out and about making his lil comments and someone started giggling a few seats down at the bar i truly think he'd combust. also probably be like "....me? you - you're looking at me? you think i'm funny ??? 😳 AnD CUte ?? really????" and then try immediately to be cooler about it but like, he's screaming crying throwing up inside

canonically we also know he liked it when bonnie matched the more aggressive/argumentative side of his personality, so i don't think he'd be able to be with someone that didn't pick at him a little. you gotta be able to tease him back but also like .. not take it too far cause he 100% can't take as much as he can give lmao (one older sibling to another we're a lot more sensitive than we pretend to be)

basically i think kai needs:

somebody grounded to keep him from totally flipping out

but who is also willing to fight for what they believe in

spontaneous and playful - but also thoughtful and mindful of his mood swings

kind enough to love him completely despite his past

and supportive enough to help him rebuild the coven

so...yeah, bonnie, basically lol

i think s6 kai at minimum needs to be with a witch that is willing to share power, and s8 kai needs a vampire or heretic. s6 kai could make it work with a human but pre-merge you're risking a lot, and then if you put s8 kai with a witch/human, he's turning them no questions asked so we better hope they're okay with it. (let's just leave legacies kai out of this, okay? he is a different breed)

i picture him being touch starved like you wouldn't believe, so super super clingy and probably jealous at least in the beginning of a relationship. that would go for friendship, too, honestly.

i think it would be really hard for him to a. wrap his head around someone picking him and then b. allow them to also pick other people. i don't think he'd throw a klaus sized tantrum, he'd be more petty about it: "oh sorry i just assumed you liked damon now since you said you liked his hair today and yEaH i was listening from three tables over watching the whole thing don't lie i SAW HOW YOU SMILED AT HIM-,"

but like he'd mellow with that as time went on and he starts to believe he can trust being loved. on that note i think he'd need a lot of reassurance but simultaneously be embarrassed/unsure of how to ask for it. some fights would happen as he works through how to regulate himself, but i don't picture it being a delena level of toxic. kai is more self aware/honest about himself so even when he's making poor choices he's like "woah hold on, why am i doing this ?? ah yes, that's why" and i think he'd get to a point where he knows his triggers and can help a partner figure out how to avoid them/talk through them.

so think like "my boy only breaks his favorite toys" vibes. he's so sure things are going to be taken from him/stuff can't be trusted that he'll mess it up first to hopefully make it hurt less. but with time a partner could help him see that he can have nice things !! love is real !! id love to see him build up the coven/a friend group/family with a partner beside him and just !! enjoy life lmao

anon you said boyfriend not husband but i hc he'd actually be an amazing dad. i would want him to end up having a siphon !!! end the coven curse of abuse bb 👏🏼 i have a post detailing what i would have done with the parker's that talks about him being a good uncle too!! i don't know i just think he'd be weirdly good with kids. so even if we're talking heretic!kai he'd be bringing kids/teens into the coven to help them and he's gonna need a partner that is down with that

no matter the stage of relationship he's super tactile. (mans has no context or care over some PDA being inappropriate). you're always sitting in his lap, or he's draped over you requesting that you play with his hair, he keeps his hand in the back pocket of your jeans, he wants you to play with his rings, ect. just always always always touching in some way even if it's small. it was something he missed out on for so much of his life and i think having someone actively want to touch him would never get old.

(sad note i picture this being a bit of a PTSD thing for him too. so certain things would make him flinch or jump and he might not even really be aware of it all the time. like he'll be tense as hell and his partner is like "honey what's happening ?? where have you gone ??" and he'd have to take a second and body scan before realizing oh shit Yeah, something is Wrong)

he's possessive as hell so expect hickys left where everyone can see AND a smug annoucment that he knows where you got them :) if we're talking s8 kai i imagine he would leave bite scars intentionally. so like heal them with magic but leave the little fang marks so other vamps know you're spoken for and he'd probably also have them on his wrist

i think a common hc is that he's Always the dominate one, but we all saw him in those chains, boy's totally a switch. (i also personally hc that 1994 kai is virgin!kai, but that's a story for another day). still tho i do think control is a big thing for him so he's definitely more comfortable being the one in charge. with trust comes wanting to mix things up tho so that's nice all around.

hands down the best boy to date during the holiday season are we kidding ??? any little thing you can possibly think of he's down and probably already has it planned:

apple orchard

carnival !!

christmas tree decorating

horror movie marathon !!

baking sugar cookies

snow ball fight

you're hosting the holiday parties now i hope you like cooking for a whole coven !!

like sep-feb you are Booked and Busy (i hc he's not much of a summer boy but that's okay if yall went back to portland west coast summers are built different, pls don't keep him in the south from mid june-mid august i fear he will melt)

if there's a downside i think it's how protective he would be. i think the mix of possessive/protective/clingy could be too much for some people but again i don't think it would last at such a high level forever. it's just elements of his personality that show up especially in high stakes situations, so they shouldn't be ignored.

but yeah anon, basically give the boy a chance and he's tripping over himself to be the best partner he can be 🤷🏼‍♀️

[mulders-too-large-shirt]

s2 episode 23 thoughts

i am: confused. about everything i just watched. and i can’t tell if the problem is me missing something blatantly obvious, the episode being strange on purpose because it’s building up to something, or it just being an overall peculiar plotline. but i will attempt to elaborate on this later. for now, as always, we start at the top.

the first thing i wrote down was that i was so excited to watch tn’s ep!! i missed the last few days because i was busy and i was really hoping tonight would NOT involve any sort of disease which proved to be the case

“i want these nerds to deal with an art heist someday” <- this i wrote while the opening scene began in some random hotel… like yeah yeah yeah ghosts aliens etc. solve the gardner heist. well maybe if they had been at the scene it never would have happened.

in this hotel, we see a guy who looks scared knocking on the door looking for “Morris” and he says someone is dead!! guy next door is listening (and yeah, so fair, it sounded juicy as hell) but when the poor hotel neighbor stands up to listen he gets… sucked into ectoplasm?? he is no longer there. also, lights are flickering.

agents in the elevator, arriving to the scene. mulder looked really comfortable in there lmaooo that was a very funny visual.

they got information from this case from scully's "contact", and the contact is one of her students!!!!!! ahhh!! she looks so proud. this is funny because she was at the academy for like 3 months lmao but clearly she made a good impression in that brief amount of time!

“heard a lot about you” detective kelly says when scully introduces mulder and HAHAAAA he turns to scully and says “we’ll talk later”. about what. do share. 

(very funny that somehow he came up "a lot" in the 3-ish months she was teaching people how to do autopsies. like girl how did you manage to bring him up consistently whilst opening cadavers. that is talent)

investigation time! (mulder sniffs a drink in the missing guy’s room) "mmm, scotch" he mumbles <- LMAOOOOO THIS MAN IS WEIRD AS HELL 

they notice a big splotch burned into the ground, and as they are investigating the burn marks, scully says it “could be the residue of burnt human flesh” and yes!!!!! I love when she says weird and unsettling things!!!!

mulder seems enthused about this case and also that there is a young detective…… give them an intern i need to see what happens. that man seems to have an instinctive need to Mentor.

detective kelly asks him what he thinks happened. the answer? “spontaneous human combustion” yes ofc!! 

SCULLY IS SO SWEET AWWW “you’re doing just fine :)” she is not going to let her student doubt herself!

scully kinda sounds like she thinks mulder is teasing the detective with such an outlandish claim but i think he’s just being himself honestly

re:human combustion “let’s just forget for the moment that there’s no scientific theory to support it” “okay :)” <- yeah i had to pause and laugh. so what!

WHAT is he doing when they get in the elevator... he is making such a strange face. does anyone have this. it was so funny. he was at once locked in and a million miles away.

okay. so this wasn't the first victim. now they are arriving at the place of an earlier victim. which is a house with all the lights off. peculiar.

“hey scully, can you spare a prophylactic?” (now yes i did have to google this word's definition!) here is my live reaction:

"like a glove? because google is also saying that this can also mean condom. okay she pulls out a glove from her pocket. okay that’s the good ending i think"

makes sense for the doctor to have lots of gloves in the pocket of her jacket. more sense than the other alternative. i was really confused for a few seconds but in the end we got there.

he uses the glove to switch the light bulb on and she says “darkness covers a multitude of sins” which is EXACTLY what i'm here for!!! please keep saying creepy stuff queen <3

enter the home... another splotch from the other victim!! who also worked in tobacco, like the hotel man!!! but he says half of richmond works in tobacco, and the first victim was a scientist, so maybe not…? but regardless this realization made me think of that post that is like “people smoke less and now we don’t get spontaneous human combustion” which is soooo funny to me. if i ever find that post again i Will reblog it. it is true, spontaneous human combustion is a lost art.

mulder is very excited to dig through the trash, which is very raccoon-coded. he finds a ticket to a train station, and suggests that perhaps someone based out of the train station is hunting people.

cut to our deeply scared looking man from earlier who seems to be able to vaporize people. WAIT... earlier it was his shadow that vaporized the other guy. and he’s hiding from light... things are adding up. no light equals no shadow equals no vaporization. sort of adding up, at least. because still, how does a shadow vaporize you?

now he was getting held at gunpoint by cops, both of whom stepped into his shadow and get zapped into splotches. this is a distressing situation, but also a silly one. 

new mulder theory: if we have 3 victims, and they were all near the train station, we could cross reference the security camera footage from those 3 days and see if we can find the guy they've looking for. “that’s assuming that we’re looking for a guy”, says scully, which made me laugh because i had seen that blooper clip and giggled profusely

mystery man is spotted on the camera and jacket identified as working at the magnet place… same as the very first victim!

off to the magnet laboratory to get the scoop on this dr. banton fellow. we get a backstory reveal: he was involved in a terrible accident! he was investigating dark matter. oh man, you can’t be fucking with such things. 

the scientist guy is babbling about particles and dark matter. and while i am trying to keep up, there are bigger thoughts taking up space in my mind. namely: scully you are soooooo pretty idgaf about the particle accelerator <3

we see the scene of the accident, where dr. banton's shadow was burned into the wall……. the energy slid through his body?? girl idk. his coworker said it was almost like he wanted it to happen. maybe you get so involved in dark matter theories that you just want to taste it for yourself. anyway, the shadow left by the zapping looks like the other splotches….. 

train station time. going with the agents to the train station. boy i wish all of the US was supported by a rail system.

he points out that dr. banton was staring at the ground for a loooong time and he's trying to figure out why.

“nonsensical repetitive behavior is a common trait of mental illness” “you trying to tell me something?” YESSSS! i have seen this gif many times and now i understand its context.

(also yes mulder has got Something going on. he has been diagnosed in my headcanon with ocd... i am sure there has been plenty of discourse as to if that is the "correct" label for what is going on in his mind but it's my interpretation and i make the rules <3)

he's taking in the whole environment of the train station, and notices that the light is soft… diffused… no shadows… maybe dr.banton is looking for such an environment... BAM he rounds the corner!

aaaand he’s running but you cannot forget that mulder is a track star! you cannot outrun him! and sure enough, they got him. mulder picks up on what's going down and shoots the lights out so there are no shadows while they talk

now banton is in a facility with soft light smoking a cigarette. very 2013 aesthetic.

he's trying to explain his affliction: “my shadow isn’t mine… it’s like a black hole”

first thought: okay??? um. how and why. second thought: can we harness this for superhero purposes? fight crime by banishing the bad guys to the Void. that's an x-men adjacent power.

dr. banton says the government is after him and they are going to "suck his brain". he begs mulder to free him before this can occur, as if that is a normal predicament to try and escape from and as if mulder has any control over this situation.

the detective’s boss is pissed the FBI is there... like girl calm down does anyone really care? all this nonsense about jurisdiction and people getting frustrated when departments cross. man, if i was in a situation like this, i would be harnessing the power of teamwork, but they never seem to do that. the agents are dismissed, but mulder tells detective kelly that dr. banton needs to be in soft light.

okay, so despite my interjection of "girl who cares", clearly they care. and i'd like to wonder aloud about this exchange:

“I hope you know what you’re doing Scully, putting Detective Ryan’s ambition ahead of all good sense in this case”

“Ambition? She’s a woman trying to survive the boy’s club, Mulder. Believe me, I know how she feels”

because he’s like “we just handed over the a bomb to the Boy Scouts”

and he thinks this new detective is gonna get evaporated but also again they have no jurisdiction so like?? i wrote that i was lost and then i rewatched the scene and was still lost. he seems to be questioning scully's judgement on letting the detective take this case, which she was not in charge of assigning the detective to, and that they only agreed to help out on. so they help and then there is nothing more that can be done because it is Not Their Case. but it also seems to be less about the fact that he is concerned with the detective getting evaporated and more into fending off the alleged brain suckers.

i didn't really get it but i wrote "the girls are fightingggggg"

X AT THE STATION??? 

ohhhh mulder wants info, but X can’t help him because he exposed his identity to skinner and scully last time!!! “and you can trust them as you trust me”, says mulder, trying to get X to believe in the goodness of humanity

X brushes mulder off and says “promise you won’t contact me again unless absolutely necessary” <- damn power imbalance going crazy 

then we se X at the psychiatric facility???? breaking dr. banton out??? is he gonna be part of the brain sucking squad? he's got 2 guys helping him out, but they step in the room and the men grabbing him got zapped out of existence. X lets dr. banton run and looks very confused about the zapping of his colleagues. 

HUH? so is X doing this because he is trying to help mulder or is he really part of the government who wants to experiment on banton? by the end of the episode, it looks like he is, in fact, allied with the brain suckers... but to what extent?

OH! dr. banton got back to his old workplace and his friend the fellow magnet scientist. but the detective catches him there. and she forces him to step against the wall and his shadow gets on her and she. uh. falls screaming into a black hole? and then leaves a burn mark like all of the other cases? man what is going on.

so banton is going back into the chamber where he was previously zapped to try and unzap himself. but he gets in the chamber and his “friend” reveals he’s working for the government that wants to catch him!!!!

BUT SOMEONE SHOOTS THE DUDE WHO HAD LOCKED HIM IN THE ROOM. It was X?! WHAT is the motive here!!!

okay, agents on the scene. accelerator is up and getting ready to zap. ZAP! another shadow shows up. so unzap the zapped equals no more banton? girl where did he go.

mulder is MAD and he is at the place X met him last time. confrontation time! mulder is pissed X used him to get to banton and again X is once again flaunting the power imbalance between them. and because X tricked him, banton is dead and so is the detective!!! boy, that has got to be bad news for mulder who blames himself for everything 

he says to X: “promise me this will be our last meeting. we’re finished” and why do I feel that this is a bad idea!!!

X says he didn’t kill banton, and walks away. and also that this is a dangerous time to go at it alone. WHAT DO YOU MEAN! first skinner's cryptic messages about the darkness that is coming, and now X?

NOOOO Scully at her student the detective's funeral... this is soooo evil. 

mulder is there but he’s late. he’s in sunglasses and they’re funny. she says this feels wrong and it shouldn’t have happened, a student came to her for help and she gave it and now the student is dead. oh scully pls do not blame yourself. it feels like they were led on this track on purpose.

mulder was late because he was tied up with a missing person’s case; the other guy from the magnet lab went missing that same morning. so maybe it was other guy in the room that had been zapped and not banton? 

X AT THE SCENE OF THE MAGNET LAB. watching the other guy run tests on banton??? a tear drops down his face. X is complicit in unethical human experimentation...

so, i’m confused on many levels. it seems like someone got the detective involved because she knew she would go to scully for help and get them roped into this case. but if that WAS what happened, you know that you buy one get one free with these 2, so why would you want to get scully involved if that meant mulder would also get involved, and mulder being the closest (arguably) to X would expose X’s involvement and whatever ulterior motive he is playing to? hasn’t scully suffered enough without being forced to wonder if her helping someone started a domino effect that resulted in death? and all of this is over a guy who zapped himself with black matter and his shadow burns people up. huh?

and how deep is X in with the government doing the evil stuff? is he just distracting mulder with various side quests to keep him from discovering the nefarious deeds they are up to? does X know cigarette guy?

i don’t like when they fight. i actually LOVE when they fight over things that make sense. but i was confused over the fight they had in this episode because he was mad that she was letting the detective… do her job? and he didn’t seem to think she could handle a guy that vaporizes people with his shadow, which i mean, fair enough, tough case for a newbie, but blaming that on scully really pissed me off because?? it’s not her fault??? they also were only involved unofficially so did he think somehow they were supposed to swoop in and rescue the dude to prevent all this from happening? and how do you even rescue a guy whose shadow vaporizes people?

either this makes no sense, i’m wildly misunderstanding something, or a plot is afoot. or all three really. pls feel free to enlighten me with what you thought on this episode and let me know if there is something i am interpreting entirely incorrectly. or not! it could be fun to try and put the pieces together myself. regardless, i am pleased we were reunited

[melanodis]

plex michaels insides must be an absolute nightmare of poor cable management. bro looks like one of those shoddily built pcs youd find for like $20 on ebay that would spontaneously combust if you ever turned it on in there. its a good thing they scooped out his guts before crawling up in there cause theyd be getting all tangled up in all that metal like a pair of cheap earbuds in ur pocket. jeremy sticking his hands in there to fix him is like shoving yourself elbows deep in a tumbleweed made out of steel wool. its all metal wires and cables and eyeballs in there and theyre all constantly squirming and writhing and getting all tangled up in each other its a mess. motherfucker could have a family of rats living in there and hed never know because their nest would look just like his mass of cables. get this man some zip ties so jeremy can go through and organize those fuckin things properly god PLEASE

sorry I thought about jeremy putting his hands in there again and I blacked out

It's a necessary evil, and he does feel bad for doing it, but Jeremy will usually taze him in order to shut Ennard down temporarily so he can get some work done without it trying to grab at his hands and undo any organization he does with each session... though it will get undone eventually. It's like a snake; refuses to be restrained and will do anything in their power to break anything that tries, they've gotta BREATHE man, even if that means squirming around freely and causing quite the anxiety. It's like the feeling of bees buzzing in your bones. But at least while Ennard is unconscious, Michael can have an hour or two of quiet with Jeremy without all the nauseating static in his ears, even if he can't really talk without their voicebox. They don't really get to talk one on one that often anymore; Jeremy is well aware that Michael is... yknow, aware, but that it's not himself speaking most of the time.

Not sure if anyone's ever actually noticed, but his eyes will be purple when Ennard is active (with Ballora's eyes) and just plain white when not, like every other iteration.

[doc-hudson]

Echoes of the past || Seamus

Paul had dodged a bullet, it seemed.

It all had started earlier in the year, when he had decided to go back to Radiator Springs for a couple of days: both to make sure the place hadn't spontaneously combusted, poor Giovanni included, and to personally grab some of the books Hera needed for her studies that would be too expensive to re-purchase.

So, he'd scheduled a flight and had traveled back home-

-around the time Swynlake had decided to be it's usual odd self and dragged everyone into a strange night's sleep, with a Regency-themed (what even was the appeal of that period, really?) collective dream for the Town to share.

Except, again, he hadn't been there.

Things were mostly back to whatever sense of normalcy Swynlake could claim by the time he was back, and save for MacTunnag being extra-pissy for whatever reason (don't ask, don't tell), things were mostly ok.

So Doc went about his normal routine: the usual jog with Lightning or with Waldo, the usual visit to Chippamunka's and the usual running of the errands expected from a man with an old house to dealt with, like occasionally stopping at Oakens for the odd bits and pieces of repairs; And there was where he'd stumbled upon an apparently shook (as the kids would said) Seamus, who was absentmindedly looking through Oaken's wood display.

"Hey, old timer" he called, both eyebrows raised "what's on your mind?"

'Are you ok?' was, too, asked within that question, just not voiced out-loud.

@apennywasted

[queen-of-writing-bad-things]

Henry Danger Reader Insert | Captain Man x Reader: SEASON 4

Episode 9.5: The Hero And His Helper

Warning: mentions of toxic relationship (drex is a bastard). poor (y/n) gets mildly hurt/mild violence (bruised wrists).

"Line up, line up...come on, line up!" Ray hissed to the others under his breath, waving his hands at them like a madman while keeping an eye on his oblivious girl. 

Thank god she was still checking their databases and voicemail. Otherwise, she'd see how much of a nervous wreck he was, clasping his hands around the ring box and wringing them together to try and stop them from getting clammy as Henry, Jasper, Charlotte and Schwoz did as he said. 

They had no idea why he needed a line or was so snappy, but they put it down to nerves when they saw the sweat dabbing at his forehead and the way he couldn't stop swallowing. Right, nervous, really fucking nervous, that made sense. 

If they were tense, they couldn't imagine how he felt, minutes away from making the most romantic gesture one could, the ultimate confession of his feelings to the girl he was crazy about and whilst they knew that nothing could mess it up, not his fumbling or any tongue-tied rambling, he wouldn't believe that. 

This had been planned and honed meticulously, shaped and carved with the most intricate details so every moment would drip with his love for her, and no one wanted to ruin that, not when he'd spent restless nights over many months or even years, trying to find a way to condense it all into a single moment. 

Jasper was the most likely person to scream, give the game away or just spontaneously combust, notorious for being flappable under pressure, but he set his lips into a solid line, silently nodding to Ray, whose eyes begged him not to mess this one up for him. He'd always proclaimed to be Captain Man's biggest fan and that he would do anything to help his boss. Now he could, by shutting up and standing calmly with his friends, something he swore to do. 

This wasn't a Captain Man moment. This wasn't the time for delusions of grandeur, this was a man putting his heart on his sleeve and by god, he was gonna let it flow freely, for himself, for Ray, for (y/n), for their little family. 

"Not a word..." Ray murmured to the group, his voice barely above a slight hum, but they heard it nonetheless and nodded once to show their understanding before shuffling back so the hero would have a bit of space. 

There was still crap around the room, dirt trodden all over the floors, cables snaking around pretty much everything, scorch marks from where things had overheated and no one could ignore the partially melted, still smouldering time machine in the middle of the room. The place was a mess and not the heavenly scene he'd first imagined when picturing his proposal. A field of roses or four big words drawn into the sand on a scenic beach would've been more cliché, fairytale and intimate, but then again, would it? 

He'd found that love was a feeling, not a place and he felt it at that moment, with her and his family, regardless of whether the Man Cave looked nice or not. He didn't need splendour. He just needed to do it when it felt right. And that was now.

"(y/n)..." He called her name shakily, cursing himself for sounding so clumsy and so evidently terrified, but she didn't pick up on it. To his tender surprise, the computer chair slowly turned around, her eyes lingering on the monitors for a few more seconds before she ripped them away, wanting to know what was up with her boyfriend more than whatever was flashing onscreen. 

Her face was smiling pleasantly and, clearly, the anticipation was unexpected for her. The box was engulfed by his hand and gripped tightly in his palm so the velvet lining was hidden from view, so she just assumed he was asking if she wanted takeout or if Colin needed feeding. Something boring, something typical because why would he be proposing? This was crazy... 

"Yeah? What do you need?"

"Do—Do you remember how we first met?" Ray started, the question falling from his lips before he could stop it and it visibly confused her faintly, a brief glimmer of perplexity in her eyes at such an odd thing to say. It was weird and totally unplanned, a surprise to both their friends and himself since he'd had a whole scenario in his head, all ready to go so he could stick to a structure and not get anything wrong. 

Well, that had been the plan, but when it came down to the pinch, Ray found himself diverting from his course as the rigidity soured his spontaneity and his heart tugged to the more natural order, which just so happened to be that question. Going back to the beginning, a very good place to start.

"Of course I do. Eleven years ago..." She replied, the confusion clear in her voice, but she went with it, letting her memories come flooding back as she remembered that fateful afternoon, the day that changed everything.

~

"I have an iced hazelnut latte for...(y/n)." The bored teen at the counter yelled over the buzz of the downtown cafe, her lifeless and sleep-deprived eyes searching for someone buzzing to get the drink she'd just made like it physically hurt her to do so. 

Her gaze snaps to a plucky, young student shuffling through the crowd, a folder of something she didn't care about shoved under her arm as she dodged the lunching businessmen and gossiping nannies, queuing up for their toasted bagels and macchiatos, and stumbled towards her. 

Great, she brought the cheery enthusiasm that made her sick, her smile shy but friendly as she approached and the teen wondered why she'd chosen to serve coffee to strangers because people like her were irritating, way too excited for a busy Tuesday lunchtime. 

"Yeah, hi, that's me." (y/n) gave the teen her best smile as she took the chilly takeout cup from her hand but despite her best efforts, getting her to return the sentiment was useless. The trainee barista was as emotionally square and cold as the ice cubes clinking through her milky drink and the awkwardness between them intensified when she dared to add a splash of her friendliness to the exchange. Sure, it was out of her comfort zone and her brain was saying no, let's just go, but what did a smile cost? 

"Thanks. I hope you have a nice day."

"I don't care." The teen's reply was blunt and cutting, making the young woman wrinkle her nose at how her simple token of gratitude and politeness was met with such standoffish rudeness. Well, that was the last time she was gonna go out of her way to brighten someone's day, once bitten, twice shy and all that. 

It wasn't; it went against her nature and demeanour, one day that teen would start smiling again and realise that it's not all bad, so she didn't let it dampen her spirits, not when she had the iced version of her favourite coffee and an entire free afternoon of going over the mechanical theory of adhesion. What bliss.

"Right, okay...happy to help, my ass." She mumbled after glancing at the girl's name tag and the annoying slogan printed there before she turned her back on the counter and began to walk away. 

Her eyes were set on the cosiest corner of the cafe, the one that had a bookshelf, a red and blue Ankara rug spread across the wooden slats and a huge armchair hidden behind a potted palm, which allowed her to disappear into a world where logic and reason ruled hand in hand with the purest field of study a person could take. 

Mathematics: the thing she knew and felt safe with because numbers are straight and immune to misinterpretation, unlike people who tended to be unpredictable and difficult. She couldn't go wrong with statistics and figures because what you see is what you get, and she preferred things to be like that. 

Her corner was free, ripe for the taking as study groups crammed for their exams and the big city lawyers sipped their espressos, all of them too busy to care about the best seat in the joint, so she steamed ahead, her target picked and primed. Her scuffed sneakers hopped between the tables, her head low and her brain on autopilot as she moved across the cafe, making a beeline for the chair and on her way, she passed a dude who could only be described as shady. 

Creepy and deserving of being put on a list also sprang to mind, but she paid no mind to him, believing him to be just another customer in search of cake and a natter, not a psychopath who'd singled her out as she'd done with her armchair.

As their bodies crossed adjacently, his arm shot out and seized her wrist, the one that held the iced coffee in its adjoining hand and her breath caught as she found herself in a terrifying situation all too quickly. 

The scuffle of him twisting her arm behind her back, thus making her squeeze her cup too tightly and causing its contents to eject all over her plaid button-down as she instinctively struggled against his iron grip, caused a stir with the families and individuals in the cafe, who perked like meerkats when they heard her shriek. 

That was only the beginning. 

Panic ensued in everyone, not just (y/n) as the man bent her arm upwards in the most unnatural way and pulled a handgun from his hoodie's pocket, the mouth pressed to her temple before she knew what was happening. Her ears were ringing as the few people who noticed began to scream and scraped their chairs back to run for it, something she wanted to do until the man's threats started.

"EVERYONE CLEAR OUT OR THE GIRL DIES!" He yelled to the terrified customers, forcing a whimper from his hostage's mouth when she struggled against his body, her eyes scanning the room for anyone with the balls to make a stand and save her, but there was no one, no bravery in sight. 

The lawyers suddenly had court appearances where they weren't the murder victim; the mothers ran to their children; the students decided that studying was for losers and they all stampeded for the exit, a mad-rush mania consuming them as they fled for safety. The staff cowering in front of their coffee machines made to leave as well, abandoning the sinking ship in favour of saving their own skins but not before the man pointed his gun at the cash register, (y/n) gulping as it left her skin for ten seconds whilst he barked orders.

"All the money in a bag, now! Don't think I won't shoot her." He snarled at the oldest of the team, the one who had the key to his desires on her chain and she quickly nodded in agreement, her trembling hands barely able to get the key in its hole as her colleagues fled, including the teen who already hated coffee houses as it was, this just cemented the feeling. 

(y/n) steadied her gasps her air as much as she could, trying not to show the desperation in her eyes as the barista filled one of the cafe's free tote bags with a few twenty-dollar bills, one fifty, a couple of tens, three fives and a whole load of coins, the total coming to what looked like barely one hundred and fifty dollars in total if the young woman's estimate was correct. A pathetic amount for her life, or at least she thought so, so much trouble and lives damaged for the cost of dinner for two at that new place downtown, Soto Voce. 

The man's fingers impatiently danced on her throbbing wrist as the woman dropped a few cents and rapidly chose not to pick them up, seeing how he was getting trigger-happy towards the nice girl who always came in and asked for the same thing. She knotted the top of the bag together so it formed a small sack worth practically nothing and she left it on the countertop, her hands returning to the sides of her head as she shuffled away. 

He jerked his head towards the door, graciously giving her his permission to run for it as he forced (y/n) to start walking, eyes set on his prize as the woman barrelled past. She barely spared her customer a glance, merely wished her a silent prayer of protection as she put self-preservation before her hospitality, but the girl wasn't mad. She probably would've done the same if she faced the same problem; she wouldn't choose her either if it meant she got to go home to her family. 

"You're my ticket out of here, girl, so I don't want no funny business. You hear me?" Putrid breath hit her right ear and then her nose, causing her to swallow away any retching that crept up in her throat and she found her voice and in a moment of despair, her courage. 

"I think we both know that you ain't getting out here." She smirked, knowing that provoking him was reckless and pretty stupid, a sure-fire way of getting herself killed all over her mouth, but then she had a thought. 

It was her life and death; why shouldn't she choose how to fight for it or how to mess it up? 

She didn't have much, she didn't know how to punch properly or negotiate to save her life (literally), but she had hope, that glorious spark igniting her resilience when a flash of red and blue caught the silverware around the room. Salvation.

"Shit, shit, shit. Fuck, the cops, what did you do, you little bitch?" He growled when more lights flickered outside and he spun around with her body still contorted against him. 

Sweet cheese, there were at least four squad cars out there, a gazillion officers lined up behind their open doors and all of them ready to take a shot at the lunatic they were staking out in the shop, the lunatic who felt terror beginning to set in.

"I didn't do anything. But there's these wonderful new inventions called cell phones. Maybe you've heard of them?" She sassed, feeling her heart drop the stone it was carrying when she saw the men and women lining the street, all of them there to save her and get her back to her dorm room safely - a shitty room that had never sounded so nice. 

Her captor wasn't so optimistic though and realised that he'd picked the wrong time, the wrong place and the wrong setting for an armed robbery, his mind flashing back to how nearly every student in the cafe had a flip phone in their pockets. No doubt, they'd all dialled nine-one-one as soon as they were a safe three blocks over and had reported that a woman's life was hanging in the balance before calling a much more prestigious line since muscle and brawn always triumphed over criminal stupidity.

"Shut up. Just shut up or it won't just be fucking coffee on your shirt." The man told her, drawing an eye roll from her at how he was trying to get clever and more threatening, but to her, it was just another shot aimed at her already shielded sanity. 

Right, yeah, her chest and tummy were icy cold and sticky from where the cup had spilt and ruined her outfit, including the paperwork she'd brought with her for studying. It was now all lying on the wooden floor, ink smeared and running as the coffee bled into the pages and left it useable; thank god that they were only summary sheets and nothing important. Still, what a dick. 

Her legs were damp and the plaid fabric above it was starting to cling and crisp as it dried out, making her more indignant with the entire situation.

"That's what you think, fuckface." (y/n) growled, switching from flight to fight as a hidden strength rose within her and fuelled her need to overthrow the man, who wasn't expecting her to jerk so rapidly. Her head ducked away from the gun first, her brain reasoning that his reaction would be to squeeze the trigger as soon as she moved, so she clenched her free fist, the one that had been foolishly yet luckily left to dangle, and thumped him in the face. 

Her knuckles rapped across his cheekbone and squished his eye just enough for the hand holding her to release her wrist in favour of covering it and her waist wriggled away from him, the safest place for cover being the table immediately in front of her. 

(y/n) ducked behind one of the shitty, retro, wooden frames, certain that the likelihood of it stopping a bullet was slim to none, but it made her feel better for a split second as the psycho snapped out of his pained shock and took aim at her again. 

Fuck, she thought he was bluffing when he said he'd do it. He'd actually take the shot if something spooked him, but she was an engineer, not a psychologist and had assumed that like her, he could never kill a fellow human being. 

His finger ran down the curve of the trigger, their eyes locking as a snarl left his lips at her defiance and blatant stupidity, his black heart making the decision there and then. If he was to make it as a big-time criminal then he was gonna have to get messy along the way, starting with her.

"Sorry, kid, wrong place, wrong time..." He shrugged and straightened his arm, making her tears fall as she regretted the last; god, how long had it been? An hour? Five minutes? Ten? Fifteen? 

She honestly couldn't say, but it felt short, really short when compared to the life that flashed before her eyes, twenty years that didn't seem like the fair share she'd been promised by nature. She had a lot left to live for, including her graduation in just two weeks, all her friends at the Swellview Tech Uni, her family back home, and whatever was laid out in front of her, the stuff that hadn't happened yet. 

Was she going to let him take all that for one hundred and fifty dollars? No.

"Damn right, asshole." She cried, her voice ragged with emotion as her fingers curled around the chair she was crouched behind and lifted it with the power only adrenaline can provide, her eyes honing in on the man's ribs, all twelve of them exposed and vulnerable on his left side as his arms were drawn away to shoot her. Her grip stayed on the back of the chair as she swung it, aiming for anything that looked soft, squishy and like it would hurt from blunt force trauma and boy, did she get her desired result. 

The ferocious velocity was unexpected for her and her captor, him not expecting her to move so quickly and her not believing that her skinny arms could do it, despite the pressure. They really were pieces of shit, splintering apart upon impact with his chest and an added bonus was that a stray leg sent the gun skidding across the floor, but the main event was how he bowed in pain, clutching at his possibly ruptured innards and cursing the day she was born.

"Fuck you, bitch." He spat as his furious gaze met hers and she let out a breathless laugh at how the tables had turned. It was probably the stress catching up to her, but she felt proud; the hunted had become the hunter, the prey was formally the one thirsting for blood and she still had a thick chair leg clutched between sweaty fingers.

"Fuck you too, dude." She replied curtly, her lips pressing into a line before she cracked the lump of wood down on his head whilst he was still bent over and in pain, the collision causing his eyelids to flutter shut as the world went black for him, leaving the cafe silent and her the victor. 

That was good, right? She'd won; she'd survived; he was unconscious on the floor and destined to wake up in a jail cell with the mother of all headaches, swift justice. 

So why wasn't she smiling?

The leg clattered to the floor as she stumbled back and realised what she'd done, what he'd done, what they'd been through. Right, a man with a bloody head on the floor, police outside wondering what the silence and stillness were about, sticky shirt, fingers not shaking, breathing getting rapid, walls closing in, cafe getting small...

A man was unconscious because of her. 

A man, who admittedly deserved it, was going to jail because of her. 

She nearly died because of her stupid mouth, fuck. 

Okay, that had happened, rationality triumphing over emotion as the need to survive still coursed through her blood, her heart still beating like it not only needed to do so to survive but also to remind her that it was still working, a sign that she'd done okay by reason's standards. 

Emotion's too; all those people who could've been taken and held, the grumpy teen working her way through high school, the lawyer putting scum like that behind bars, the students still fresh-faced with youth and the mothers nurturing their young ones for a similarly bright future. 

A child: it could've been a child with a gun to their head. A son, a daughter, a friend, a mother, a father; not going home because they were grabbed, but they weren't. It was her instead; she was the unlucky one, wrong place, wrong time, just like he'd said. Thank god for that. 

"You're alive and not hurt and good, (y/n). You're good and you deserve a coffee. Yeah, coffee, coffee's good, coffee kicks ass. I like coffee." She muttered to herself like it was a comforting blanket for her bruised soul and the more she rambled, the less the panic set in and the smoother her movements were. 

She stepped over the criminal's body, careful not to step on him because that would be cruel and disrespectful. Even if he hadn't spared a thought for her life, she wasn't like that. She was way too sweet.

It was a bit sad that she knew how to make an iced hazelnut latte from scratch without the need for a recipe or some guidance from one of the baristas, but she'd watched them do it every day through her journey to achieving her degree. 

She'd watched every step, knew every bottle they plucked from the fridge, every button to press on the blender as she whipped one together, adding the ice first, exactly six cubes like they always did, and she even wrote her name on the cup, although properly spelt unlike when that teen did it. The straw poked through the lid with a satisfying glide once she'd poured out the creamy contents and secured the lid, turning to her snoozing problem still on the floor. 

Right, well, she didn't want him to wake up whilst she went outside and greeted the police, who she'd soon learn were useless in everything they did, so it was no wonder they didn't come running in when things quietened down. He could scarper once he saw that she had gone and he was left alone, leaving him free to go back to his lair to lick his wounds and plan revenge. She didn't like the sound of that; some lunatic chasing her down because she got one up on him, so leaving him was out of the question.

She'd have to drag him. Not impossible, not implausible, just a bit tricky. Looking at the floor, she guessed that the wood had been sanded down and walked on enough to create a smooth surface where he'd receive some splinters but nothing too bad. The real problem would be the concrete sidewalk outside, a quick friction and resistance check telling her that he'd probably be really fucking difficult to shift, especially considering that she'd be yanking him with his arm in one hand and her coffee in another. 

That's what she'd do. She'd take him out, let them grab him and then she could go to hospital and have a meltdown, the perfect end to a perfect afternoon.

"Okay, asshole, you're coming with me." She said, feeling a bit stupid that she was talking to an unresponsive man as she picked up his limp wrist, careful not to drop her drink since there was no way that she was gonna make another one. A third spillage would be a sign from the universe to give up and she wasn't quite ready to do that, standing up straight and bracing herself for the long haul. The very long haul.

The guy's arm was vertical as she made the first pull, straining with all her might as his body slid across the floorboards just a bit. His black hoodie and jeans combination proved to be more frictional than she first anticipated and she was yanked back at the lag, but she luckily didn't drop the latte; it merely sloshed about over the ice. 

She'd have to double her efforts and she bit her lip as her muscles tensed before she went again, his body moving as she started pulling him towards the door, hand, wrist, elbow and arm getting sore but she kept going. His head nudged a table leg, no doubt adding to the bruises and lumps he already had under his greasy, dirty blond hair, but she couldn't bring herself to care, not after how she'd been treated and when she was in touching distance of freedom. 

Finally, she was at the door and she could see the officers whispering amongst themselves through the glass panned, them having obviously seen her approaching and their grip around their handguns readjusted and their arms straightened, obviously ready to fire at the first sign of trouble. Well, she'd had quite enough of that, trouble and the prospect of fatal injury, so her heart pumped faster as her leg shuffled around to prop the door open, the knob turning ever so slowly as it was stupidly difficult trying to nudge it a full three-sixty degree with a drink in her hand, but she managed it. 

Still uncaring, her sneaker bashed against the bottom panel, sending the damn thing flying wide open at last and she kept moving, gulping slightly when she saw just how many guns were pointed at her, the police wondering what the hell was going on as they saw a young girl dragging one of the most wanted men in the city like he was a dog on a leash.

"Don't move or we shoot! State your name and purpose!" The senior officer yelled at her as she took a few struggle-filled steps, causing her to instantly freeze on the spot when she realised they weren't joking. Come on; they were meant to be the good guys. She was meant to be the victim and yet they were giving her suspicious looks and treating her like she'd robbed a cafe and held an innocent student at gunpoint, talk about a waste of the taxpayer's money.

"Uh, well, I-I'm (y/n)... Purpose..uh, what's my pur—" The young woman stammered, dropping the guy's arm so he faceplanted the concrete path and just laid there, her caring more about how she was possibly in trouble for something she hadn't even done or played a part in. The shaking was coming back and emotion was welling up inside her, making her grasp on the plastic cup intensify and it all looked so fucking bleak when...

"Hold your fire, fellas! It's okay. It's okay! I'm here, nobody panic, I'm here! Captain Man is here!" A powerful voice sounded out and a large figure emerged from the crowd, red and blue jogging onto the scene as everyone parted for their hero, the only one they'd listen to at a time like this. 

Holy shit, it was him...Swellview's greatest hero, the one all her friends secretly adored and had pinups of on their dorm walls, the guy whose face never seemed to be off KLVY News. The one, the only, Captain Man. 

He was just as handsome as everyone said he was, just as huge and muscular as all the gossip magazines described, and he was heading straight for her.

"Hello, citizen, don't be afraid. I'm here to make...all the fear in your pretty eyes disappear." Ray smirked as he swaggered up to who he could only assume was the hostage he'd been told about, who'd obviously managed to run for her life, seeking comfort in the arms of someone strong, tall and mysterious—namely him. 

The only thing he hadn't been told was how she was so damn pretty, a bit dishevelled and smelling of sweet coffee like the one in her hand, but he wasn't that shallow. He could tell that she was probably weak and vulnerable after such an ordeal and for those lips and hips, he could be a shoulder to cry on.

However, (y/n) wasn't dumb. Shaken and in need of a medical once-over, definitely, but stupid and blind to his advances, certainly not. 

As much as she could see his handsomeness and muscles rippling under his superhero costume suit thing, and had heard all the juicy stuff from her friends about how great his ass was, she knew that he was a terrible flirt, a ladies' man, and dated anything with a pulse. So, the fact that he was trying to pull her after she'd basically done his job for him really pissed her off. 

It was flattering to think about at first, but then again, is flattery a compliment when its quantity is valued more than its quality?

"Are you taking the piss? I've been in there, scared out of my mind with a gun to my head by that fucking psychopath, praying that he won't fucking shoot me and that's the best you've got? Damn right, I'm scared, you little spandex bastard. You got here too fucking late!" She snapped, ignoring how he recoiled at the torrent of filth leaving her mouth. 

Normally, she'd be appalled with herself for using so many curses in the space of five seconds, her mother's scolding voice echoing in her head, but she was angry and rightfully so. 

To hell, if she was talking to the most sought-after celebrity in Swellview like he was a piece of dirt after he paid her a compliment that some people would probably pay money for if it meant he was the one who said it to them. 

To hell with the consequences of standing up to him with so many police officers willing to back him up with their weapons. 

To hell with her rationality. Her brain was telling her to leave it, let him say his piece and then go. But he was a person underneath that mask exactly as she was and like any other person who pissed her off to the point of exploding, he received the sharp end of her tongue.

"Uh, right, okay, I was on my way over here, got stuck in traffic, but I can take the guy out for you...where is he?" He stumbled and fell from his high plinth of prestige, shocked that such a small and innocent young woman could snap back so harshly and to him of all people. 

He was normally quite good with the ladies, more than good actually; they fell before him when he entered a room, sent love letters to his Man Cave as if he'd actually reply to them, and claim that because he took them on a divine date, he wanted something substantial and serious. So, the fact that this gorgeous girl in front of him wasn't swooning made him nervous. That was new.

"He's right here. I already took him out, smashed him over the head with a chair...no thanks to you or your police friends!" (y/n) growled and stepped to the side, pointing at the man on the floor who was just a black slump to any onlookers and Ray practically felt his eyes pop out of his skull when he saw him lying there, the guy he'd been trying to track down and capture for weeks. 

Two policemen came over to drag him away, his body still limp even as they slung his arms over their shoulders and carted him off to a jail cell, and all the while, Ray had two things on his mind; how a girl of her size was able to take him down single-handedly and without any training, and whether she'd be up for going out for a drink with either Captain Man or Ray Manchester.

"Right, okay—ahem. This is slightly awkward, then." He coughed, trying to work out whether he found her hot or if she terrified him before settling on a bit of both. It was a thrilling mix of emotions, one that made his heart beat faster when those eyes gaze at him like they were penetrating his soul and he wondered how he could approach the big question, "hey, I really fancy you. You wanna go for coffee at some point?". 

Coffee. Coffee sounded good in his head. She was holding one right now, those scarlet-stained lips wrapping around her straw to finally taste her sweet creation and he decided that it was a good place to start. The execution, however, could've been better. 

"You have coffee on your shirt."

"Oh, really? Thanks, Holmes, for another brilliant deduction. Just count yourself lucky I'm not sending you the cleaning bill after everything I've put up with today." The young woman replied curtly, not finding his mentioning of her sticky shirt very funny or flattering. Cheeky dick, yeah, she felt like shit and she probably looked like it, but she didn't need a reminder, not when she was already having a tough time of it.

"Uh—-sorry about that, just let me give you my phone number and you can text me the price whenever," Ray said, pulling the latest PearPhone from his belt and flipping the screen open so he could give her his digits, a sneaky way of keeping in touch with her that was hidden by the falsehood that he was accepting the blame in all of this. 

He didn't know this girl and she obviously wasn't too fond of him, but strangely, the thought of not seeing her again seemed so disappointing; he couldn't just leave it and move on. A defeat wasn't an option, not for a guy like him. 

"Actually, it would probably be best if you give me yours too—so I know who's texting and stuff, you know. Can't leave a beautiful girl like you hanging."

"I-I know what y-you're doing, but fine. Whatever. Here's—here's my phone. I take it you can find what you're looking for." (y/n) stuttered and dug out her back pocket, having forgotten that it even existed when she was fighting the criminal, not that she'd had any opportunities to call for help. 

It sort of worked against her point to give the man her number after being so short-tempered with him and it wasn't just because he called her beautiful, even if it did send her heart racing. She'd bet ten dollars with anyone that he called all the girls he met beautiful and offered to take their details to call back later, so she was sure that it would just get lost in the numerical sea. He wouldn't even remember her by the time he found it in his contacts list again and she'd just become another passing stranger - no harm in that.

"Cool...what did you say your name was?... To go with the number, I mean." Ray faltered when he saw her eyebrow lift and cursed himself for appearing like a dickhead in front of such a lovely girl. What was wrong with him? 

He was blushing like a teenager, fumbling like a moron and getting tongue-tied like he hadn't flirted for all of his adult life. She was different though, she was something new and he wanted to get to know her better, particularly since she seemed to have some raw skills hidden under her student appearance. She was feisty yet sweet and just the sort of talent he was looking for, so maybe...

"I didn't say, but it's (y/n). My name is (y/n)...(y/l/n) if you really must know. (y/n) (y/l/n)." 

God, what was that? She sounded like a dumb, lovestruck idiot, losing her confidence when he paid her the slightest bit of attention as if it made them any closer or meant that he liked her. She was probably all tits and hips to him, just a pretty face, another inexperienced waif to string along before severing the connection—and dear lord, why did that suck so much? 

He was known for it, and he'd had more girlfriends than she'd had hazelnut lattes; it was typical and expected, so why did she let it upset her? It must've been his handsomeness and his charming ability to make anyone like him that gave her a pinprick of jealousy. Yeah, that was it.

"A beautiful name for a beautiful girl." He smiled at the blush that tinged her cheeks and unlike with him, it was clear to see because she wasn't fortunate enough to be wearing a mask. 

Wow, her smile was radiant and not faked like the ones plastered onto the faces of the models he knew; they really were all tits and hips. This young woman wasn't though; she had what looked to be an equation written on the back of her hand and a makeup-free face that spoke natural beauty, not falsity. She was different. 

"Yeah, well, I should be going. There's a paramedic over there who has a shock blanket with my name on it." She gave him a polite smile, hiding her disappointment that all good things come to an end because if she didn't cut it off now, she just might run the risk of falling in love with him.

That would only leave her in tears and him wondering if she was mad. Captain Man didn't do falling in love and honestly, neither did she; she was too busy for that crap and even though his attention was...heavenly, she wasn't going to give herself false hope. She was too busy for that crap too.

"Oh, god, yeah, yeah. You should probably go to the hospital, let them check you over...and thanks for everything you did today. It was really sweet of you to do my job for me." He returned the pleasant look, also not letting himself droop at the thought of their chance encounter being over. 

Damn, he was just getting into his stride and he'd probably never hear from her again once they parted ways, no matter how many texts he sent to pay for her laundry. It was a very small price to pay to see her again, not that she'd ever reply. The trauma of the attack had no doubt affected her and left her shaken, so it made sense that she'd disassociate herself from the memory, including him. Hospital was fine and so was he.

"No problem, you doofus. If you ever need me to kick ass again, just call me. You know my number." She laughed, breaking the awkwardness as she swirled what was left of the latte. She was hurting her own feelings at this point, fully aware that she had more chance of becoming president than getting him to remember her, but a girl can dream, right?

"Yeah, if I ever need a sidekick, I'll talk to you about it...I'll see you later." Ray grinned, stepping back when she did. 

Well, this was it, this was goodbye and it had been an honour to laugh with her. For the first time in his life, the hero found that parting really is such sweet sorrow. Damn, maybe he would accept that date with the redhead tonight if it meant his heart would stop hurting so much—and after meeting one girl no less. 

"Okay, later." (y/n) smiled until his back was turned and it fell into a sad frown when she realised there was no later-  her brush with the superhero was done, finished, finito, nothing more to be said on the matter. 

He was off to pose in front of cameras and wine and dine the finest women Swellview had to offer, while she returned to her dorm room to retell the story over a carton of sweet and sour chicken. 

God, that seemed so pathetic and she was only brought out of her self-wallowing when the same paramedic draped a thick orange blanket over her shoulders and told her something about shock, trauma and a checkup. 

Right, she was another victim and another face he'd saved, nothing special; she could barely do her eyeliner straight let alone wear a sexy dress and walk in ten-inch heels. She wasn't his type, so she left her hope at the cafe as she clambered into the ambulance, feeling calmer when the doors blocked the memories and took her far away.

It was a good thing she was going to the hospital. The incident had scared her half to death, but it was nothing compared to the near heart attack she was gonna have when she saw the name "Ray Manchester/Captain Man" listed in her contacts. Whoops. 

~

"I never expected you to call me back three days later." (y/n) smiled at her boyfriend, letting the memory sweeten her mood as she recalled how he flirted with her back then, only for it to be instantly nipped in the bud when she became his employee, a line of professional drawn between them that stopped any feelings developing, or that had been the plan. It didn't work out in the end and thank Christ for that, otherwise, he wouldn't be standing there looking at her with a gaze that could melt butter and a heart that couldn't stop fluttering.

"I knew you were smart and strong and sweet. I just didn't know how much. All I knew was that you were beautiful, and I wanted you to work for me. So damn much." Ray replied. He still got the same butterflies from her, still felt nervous when it came to asking her big questions, like the one on the tip of his tongue, and he was so damn glad that he'd taken the leap all those years ago and entered his real name into her phone. 

It had been a risk and for days he'd mulled over whether it had been a mistake or not, but the minute he got her call and he heard her trying not to hyperventilate as she told him her qualifications, he knew that he'd picked right. He gave her his name then and, hopefully, he was gonna do the same now.

"All girls were beautiful to you back then. I thought you would never feel the same way I felt because I was so different from everyone you dated." She murmured, letting her eyes grow a little misty as she remembered the waves of emotions that overtook her when she felt anything for her boss that could have been more than friendship, only to scold herself for dreaming about something that could never be. 

It felt silly now, knowing that she was living the dream with him sleeping in her bed at night and not just because of a nightmare; she was wanted there, something that in the beginning, was unfathomable because someone else's imprint had been left there from a one night stand or a date that never went further.

"I'm sorry, sweet girl. From the moment I met you, I saw how special you were and I hate that I only realised it when you were in someone else's arms." Ray shut his eyes for a long second, knowing that his silent friends had their eyes burning into his back. Schwoz knew the story like the back of his hand; after all, he'd been there, he'd lived it, but the teens had always been shielded from the horrors that had taken place all those years ago in the old Man Cave. A time he'd rather forget...

~

Flash-forward two months since little, old (y/n) (y/l/n) had an aneurysm in her bedroom after seeing that Captain Man had really left his number on her phone (he had, holy shit, he had and more), and she was gainfully employed as his helper, assistant, part-time cleaner, part-time mechanic and whatever else he made her do. 

She didn't really have a job description apart from being the prettiest face around the Man Cave, which she still thought was a weird name for a hideout, but whatever. His place, his rules. 

Complaining wasn't really an option, not when he'd offered her a permanent place of residence in his home as a live-in whatever she was; graduating college left her with a shiny degree, still hot from the printing press, but it also booted her from the dorm room she'd occupied for the last two and a bit years, which had been a real problem until Captain Man, ahem, Mr Manchester, ahem, Ray, stepped in to help.

He wanted her close, had found her smile charming, and he wanted to get to know her better, pull off some of his best flirts. Hopefully, he'd take her out properly and see where it went because she was alluring and different, but he had no idea how close she'd become - just not with him. 

He'd introduced her to Schwoz and they got on like a house on fire, science buddies akin to a mentor taking on a diamond in the rough. (y/n) knew her stuff, but she lacked the kind of experience you can only find out in the field with a skilled hand guiding you, so they were fine; solid friends already, no problems there. 

What stung him and was a real fucking blow was how she got on with his secret sidekick, Drex. 

The guy he'd taken on as a student, a blank canvas that he could paint and sketch his morals onto, had swooped in and captured her attention quicker than he could've blinked. Before he knew it, he was practically spitting out his morning coffee when he came down from the sprocket and saw them locking lips. His hands were cupping her cheeks tenderly and she was blushing as she grinned into the kiss, feeling like she was on cloud nine when he asked her to be his girlfriend. 

Hold on, back up, had Ray missed something? 

He was the wooer, he was the boss, he was the one who made moves and yet here was his best friend and his newest helper canoodling. In front of him. Freely. Ew.

That had been months ago. Four months, one hundred and twenty-two days, two thousand, nine hundred and twenty-eight hours; however, he looked at it: it sucked. Plain and simple. 

He hated this. He hated their relationship and as such, he hated himself. 

They were happy. He could see that; Schwoz "saw" that. She smiled and held his hand, baked him cookies and gave him kisses when his training didn't go so well. Drex was living the dream with the most beautiful girl in Swellview, hell, the world, by his side, in his bed, whispering his name and calling him babe like it was a goddamn prayer, whilst Ray was living in hell. 

He tried to ignore it, told himself that it wasn't right; she was his sidekick's girlfriend and obviously intent on staying with him. She was his employee, for god's sake, younger than him by a handful of years yet here he was, pining after her like she was actually in reach. 

God, he wanted her. Not want like that; she was a person, but he wanted that with her. A relationship, romance, hugs that signified more, giggly moments where "doofus" carried love and not mirthful banter - why did she have to call him that? 

Sometimes, he allowed himself to fall into the mindset that she might just feel the same, have an inkling of interest to maybe go on a date with him, dream about his lips like he did hers, but then he came back to reality and brutally chastised himself. That was his friend's girl, a young woman with future prospects and a good guy—a solid guy to help her to get there and who was he to ruin that?

He was older, her boss, her boyfriend's mentor and her friend. And that was the end of that. Feelings, be damned.

It all came to a head during a particularly dull afternoon, where there was nothing extraordinary, nothing out of place or weird, but an elephant was in the room. 

An angry elephant, ready to stampede and let out all that hate, but he hadn't reached boiling point.

Drex was training, kicking the life out of a dummy as if it had spat on his grandma or something. His rage was disguised as a pure determination by his unsuspecting friend, who was lifting weights on the other side of the room. 

Friend, yeah, right. Friendship was cheap and Drex had learned that you couldn't trust anyone, especially those who said they could be trusted. He'd seen the glances, the longing stares, the lingering hugs, and the irritating nicknames. He'd seen them together, how he acted around her, how he hung around her until the last second, and how he pretended not to feel anything for his girlfriend, who had just so happened to walk through the door.

"Hiya, what you guys doing?" (y/n) greeted them warmly, not letting her smile falter even when the stench of sweat and general manliness hit her nose. Her eyes looked at Drex first, her brain telling her that it was only right that she should since she was in love with him and his girlfriend. That's what girls did when they liked someone, right? 

He was sweaty, shirtless and conventionally hot, like those guys in cologne adverts who always seemed to have oil on their chests, but even still, she couldn't find it in herself to feel the same fluttering she once did. 

Day after day, encounter after encounter, she found herself losing feelings, seeing a change in the blond man and his good nature, and what she saw frightened her. It frightened her...a lot.

"Training," Drex answered plainly, releasing a grunt after the last syllable as his fist collided with the dummy's silicone face with enough force to shatter someone's jaw, causing her to flinch at the reverberating smack, not that he saw. 

She wasn't an idiot; despite getting quieter day by day, she still knew when someone wasn't interested and the fact that he didn't even turn to look at her, said everything. What was the point? Her heart ached at the thought of rejection and, strangely, was tugged towards the gentle giant on the weights bench.

Ray. 

Now, he was sweaty. He was shirtless. He was hot. Shit. 

The thought shocked her as it crossed her mind, the scandalous nature of it seeming so dangerous and forbidden for so many reasons. He was out of bounds, protected by so many rules ranging from him being her employer to her thinking that he was totally not interested. 

If she had learned anything in her six months of working in the Man Cave, it was that Captain Man loved to go on dates as all the magazines said, and whilst she had been disappointed to know that her specialness was limited to being his worker, she'd left it at that. 

She and Drex were happy. Ray was a friend. She couldn't—wouldn't—think like that, not when her boyfriend was a few steps away and beating the fake man so brutally.

"I-I was wondering if you wanted to help me bake that cookie recipe I made. The-The chocolate chip one, I mean, if you want to. I-I just thought it would b-be nice." (y/n) stuttered, a common feature of every sentence she said to him nowadays, her feelings always braced for backlash and his cruel tongue. 

She wanted his affection; she wanted him to be happy; she wanted to be loved because it wasn't like she had proposals coming out of her ears. He had been the first guy to like her since some chemistry nerd back in high school. It was almost like she wanted his approval, even though deep down, she didn't want anything from him unless it was to be left alone.

"No, I don't want to bake any damn cookies. Can't you see that I'm training, cupcake?" He spat, drawing Ray's glare when the coldness permeated the room through the heat emitting from their bodies. 

What the fuck? Baking cookies with her? From a recipe she was so proud of? That was an honour. A privilege. A goddamn dream for him, eating cookie batter and the leftover chocolate as they waited for them to bake, wiping flour on each other's faces. That sounded like heaven to him, a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, but here was Drex, turning his nose up at it and biting her head off. That pissed him off.

He probably shouldn't get involved. It was their relationship, their issue, their business. 

But something had been gnawing away at him for a while now and it was getting hard to ignore. It was Drex's rising temper and tendency to lash out. He wasn't blind, he wasn't stupid—well, not much and he could see that something had switched in the guy who should've been his most trusted companion. But the more time they spent with each other, the men found themselves growing distant and more distrustful of each other. 

And now he was hurting the sweetest girl in the world for the dumbest shit, something that boiled his blood. 

"I—I know, babe, but I j-just thought w-we could—"

"No. I'm not baking cookies. Quit asking. Stop being so clingy." 

Ouch. Right. Well. Uh. Error, (y/n) could not be found. The insult cut deep, making her pause as he turned to keep kicking the dummy and that left her to stand there, hands frozen yet shaking, heart thumping but broken. 

Clingy. Clingy—clingggy—cling—cli—he said that, to her face, just then, with utter malice in his tone and spite in his eyes, almost like he'd wanted it to hurt her and slash where it was softest. Well fucking done, he'd managed it; she didn't know how to react, didn't know what he wanted to hear if anything, so she just stepped back. And back again. 

"Right, okay, well, I-I'll be over there, if you n-need me..." She whimpered, not knowing if he could hear her or not over his smacking punches, but he didn't need to. She was retreating to go and possibly have a panic attack on one of the benches at the side of the room and Ray, well, he'd heard enough. 

"Hey, I'm gonna take a breather, pal." He called out to his sidekick cheerfully, acting as though the last three minutes hadn't happened and he shrugged on a grey tank top after leaving his workout bench, deeming it to be unimportant when he saw the tiny figure curled up a few metres away. 

Drex didn't even bother to reply fully, preferring to grunt like a Neanderthal as he continued his assault on silicone, meaning he didn't notice the large man pad across the gym to the crestfallen girl he'd so thoughtlessly wounded, her knees pulled up to her chin like they were shielding what was left of the tattered remains in her chest. He didn't know which approach was best, what words would or could heal the pain, but there was a space next to her and against his better judgement, he took it.

"Hey," Ray said softly, plonking down next to her as gracefully as he could, which wasn't very graceful since he was a six-foot wall of mass, but she didn't mind. Neither did she mind how sticky and searing his skin was, not even when it brushed against her bare arm and made her goosebumps rise. She didn't care about anything at that moment, well, she cared about what people thought about her and if her boyfriend thought she was hanging around too much, then she could disappear. 

That's all she wanted to do, let the ground swallow her up so she could think long and hard about what she'd supposedly done; looking back, she didn't think she'd been clingy at all. In fact, she'd barely seen Drex recently, but rationality didn't help for once. It just made it worse.

"Hi." She whispered back, concentrating on threading her fingers together and checking her nails, anything that meant she could avoid anyone's eyes. They'd see the shame in them and the heartache, not to mention the tears threading to drop and she wasn't one for stealing the attention. Hell, she'd just been called clingy by the guy who meant the world(?) to her, she didn't feel like talking, but when he reached over to hold her hand and rub his thumb over her knuckles, she suddenly found herself being persuaded.

"Why are you sitting here alone?" He questioned, obviously knowing the answer and it felt a little stupid to ask, but he didn't know how to start the conversation properly and it was the best thing he could come up with that wasn't dragging her into his arms and kissing the pain away. 

No, he didn't want that. She was upset because of her boyfriend and whilst he wanted to beat his ass for speaking so viciously, he still respected the boundary. He was a guy known for dragging couples apart and picking through the spoils for himself, but he couldn't do that to her. She was pretty and alluring, but she was also his friend and he'd rather let himself suffer for once than lose that.

"I, uh, just figured that I should get out of the way. You guys need to train for superhero stuff..." She shrugged and tried not to focus on how much her heart was speeding up at his soft touch. Drex was never this tender—no. 

He was just being nice, offering comfort and succour like all friends. He probably held hands with lots of crying girls to get them to cheer up; nothing wrong with that. And besides, boyfriend, boyfriend, boyfriend, the whole reason why she needed a bit of cheer, thinking like that would only end in trouble and a broken heart when both men left her.

"(y/n/n), you are never in the way. Never. I—the team needs you, you're one of us and I hate seeing you so upset." Ray told her gently, stopping himself from saying something he'd regret, but he still spoke honestly and from the heart. 

In six short months, she'd settled in, poked out of her shell, found herself a boyfriend and now, it was like she'd ways been there, smiling and adding a few sarcastic comments to his shenanigans. She fixed stuff, cleaned stuff and his life had never been better, but things were starting to slip. Drex was getting weirder and weirder by the day and she was crawling back into her shell and he hated that.

"I think you'd be all right without me, doofus. There's a million me's in the Tech Uni right now. You could find someone else." (y/n) finally looked up at him, her eyes sparkling with affection for him and mourning for herself. 

She was just someone who'd gotten lucky and just so happened to have a mechanical engineering degree to seal the deal, a combination that could've happened to anyone else, any other girl. Someone prettier, someone smarter, someone who had the backbone she lacked, someone who knew what people liked and wanted. It hurt to admit it, for both of them, her thinking that she was wrong and him thinking that she couldn't be further from the truth. 

"You couldn't be more wrong. You help me, help the team. I don't want some random student from the college. I want my...friend. That's you by the way." Ray smiled, his hands engulfing hers, his hips turning further so his knees were angled against her and the contact made her look up again, but this time, she really looked. 

He looked at her. She looked at him. Boy sees girl. Girl sees boy.  For the very first time.

Blood pumping through their heads muffled any outside interference and she could swear that the walls were closing in again, for a very different reason from before. Since when were his eyes that blue? How could his lips look that soft? He'd said friend and shit, that sucked, more than usual. 

It suddenly occurred to her that her heart had never thumped like this for Drex; he'd never been this kind, soft or encouraging; he'd never been there to make her feel better, never knew when she was hurting, but Ray always did. Sure, it felt awful to think about it when her real boyfriend, the one who claimed to love her when he pinned her down and took what he wanted, was right there, but it was true. 

Ray was better in so many ways and therefore, too good for her.

The superhero could swear that he wasn't breathing. If he was, then he couldn't tell because all he knew was her; the feel of her skin, the way her hair fell in her eyes, which seemed to see into his soul. Since when had pretty truly turned into beautiful? Since when did Captain Man let one girl captivate him so much? 

He meant what he said, struggled to say the f-word, but everything else came naturally. Intrinsically. No one else had ever made him feel so protective and sappy, and he couldn't remember a time when someone had looked more beautiful. Models couldn't compare, neither could actresses and...his sidekick got to have her all to himself. 

Bastard, he didn't even know how lucky he was. He'd give anything to get a chance to kiss her, be more with her, have something real and substantial with her. 

"Hey, cupcake, you gonna make me those cookies or what?" A cold voice rang, making their heads jerk away from each other to look for it and their eyes landed on Drex. 

Shit, he didn't look happy. Macho, alpha, possessive, ready for a fight, that's how he looked and it was all centred on his boss, with only a fraction going on his girlfriend, who instantly slid down the bench and stood up. She had the fucking nerve to blush and he knew who was to blame. 

His damn mentor, Ray "wants every girl to himself" Manchester. 

He was making a move on his fucking girlfriend, he wasn't blind and he was gonna show him who she belonged to.

"Uh, yeah, babe, I'm coming—" (y/n) gave Drex an embarrassed smile, knowing that she'd been caught having a moment with someone else and she only hoped that she nor Ray would face any repercussions, but she never got a chance to defend herself. The sidekick roughly pressed his lips against hers, shutting her up before her reply was even over and she gasped at the sudden intrusion of his tongue into her mouth. 

Honestly, she didn't feel like it was the right moment for a kiss, not when their boss was standing right there and could see every moment, every swipe of their mouths moving together, but that was the point.

Ray gulped awkwardly at the sight and whilst he had seen it plenty of times before, this one was different. It was over the top, too intimate for just a passing fancy as most people would settle for a peck in public and leave a make-out session for a private room, but his bones told him that this was sending a message. Oh god, Drex knew, he fucking knew. He was making her uncomfortable because he knew how he felt for her and he was laying claim to his territory like a damn animal. 

They broke apart with slightly puffier lips, her eyes on the floor as Drex's arm settled on her shoulder and he moved to pull her away, but not before she turned to Ray one last time.

"I'll, uh, see you later, R-Ray." (y/n) stammered and told herself that the kiss was good. Nice. Pleasant. Not all at him pushing her past her limits and her pretending to like it so he'd be happy. Why did he have to be so rough all the time? A little heads-up would be nice sometimes. And in front of others like that? It felt icky. 

"Uh, yeah. Later..." Ray called after them, watching their retreating figures as they headed for the door and he felt like he'd scraped through that one and made it out the other end alive and unharmed. Sure, there was friction, but that had been stewing for a while now; Drex still liked him, right? 

Maybe not; the blind man took the opportunity to look back over his shoulder and glare at the hero, his furious eyes daring him to make a move again and face his wrath, causing Ray to freeze on the bench. 

Yeah, he knew. There was no way he didn't.

They were off to make cookies, something that asshole didn't deserve, but it made her happy, leaving Ray to sit with his thoughts, mainly the ones about Drex knowing how he felt. How did he feel? Six months since meeting, it sure didn't feel like an interest anymore. Neither did it seem like a crush. 

The innocent fluffiness had developed into a soft spot and that had grown into tenderness, which he felt every time he saw her. His heart pounded harder, his thoughts got clouded and every time he saw her, he wondered if she might possibly dream about the taste of his lips as he did hers. That hadn't happened before and he'd fancied hundreds of girls, no joke, so it left him with a startling conclusion. 

He was falling in love with (y/n) (y/l/n), his friend and a taken woman. Fuck. 

~

"Unhappy in someone else's arms." (y/n)'s voice snapped him out of his daydream and suddenly, he was back in the new Man Cave, his new family behind him and the same sweet girl in front of him, but she was so different. She was happier, marked ever so slightly by age and his girlfriend, not Drex's. 

Those memories really sucked him from reality, made his mind wander and his heart sink when he remembered how much of a bad time that was for her, for him, for everyone. Seeing how his eyes grew sad, the young woman knew what he was thinking about, but didn't let it unpick her scars too. She'd made her peace with it a long time ago. 

"I didn't know you felt something so early. I thought it was just me."

"I tried to stay away from you—the relationship, I mean. You were—are so beautiful and I wanted to be the one who got to bake cookies with you because he didn't deserve to look at you, never mind kiss you like he did...still doesn't. But I respected that you'd chosen him and I could never bring myself to deliberately ruin what made you happy." He confessed, holding back his tears since he didn't want them to reflect on the occasion and remember unhappiness and depressing crap. 

"I wasn't happy. Maybe at first, but I think by the end of it, I just wanted to be loyal, not loving...That night, after we made cookies, the night when you two...he told me that he knew how I felt about you." (y/n) gulped before continuing. 

"He told me that I was lucky to have him and that I would never find anyone else who would put up with my shit like he did. He said that no one would want a shy, plain girl with nothing extraordinary to give and that I should've been thankful that he chose me when he could've had any girl he wanted." She revealed, spilling the secrets that she'd kept away from everyone, including him for far too long. 

He knew the rough story and had a vague idea of what had gone down, but he'd never heard his ex-sidekick's exact words and holy shit, he never knew that it was possible to hate him more.

"Then he pushed me against the wall and started shouting about how he didn't want to see me looking at anyone else because he was all I needed, all I deserved. What a dick, right?" (y/n) chuckled weakly, finding it a bit amusing that she'd allowed him to rule her life for so many months and then let his words stay with her for years after, even when he was long gone. 

Never again would she let a man push her around, but she wouldn't have to. She had Ray, the man who'd pieced her back together and treated her softly, so unlike Drex had done. However, she hated that, for a long time, she'd thought she hadn't deserved love and had carried his words like they were chained to her.

"It wasn't your fault, sweet girl. I just wish I'd stopped that bastard sooner." Ray replied, feeling the incredible urge to kneel in front of her as she sat on the chair and pull her into his arms so he could remind her how he was the one in the wrong, he was the heartless one and that it wasn't her fault that he'd lured her in with fake smiles and false whispers. Her sweetness didn't deserve to be soured like that and if anything, it was his fault because he'd waited until something went wrong to intervene.

~

December nights are never pleasant. They're cold, rainy or snowy—miserable until you hit that Christmas checkpoint and the lights come out. But for the first week, everything seems bleak. And everything was bleak in the Man Cave.

Drex was gone, disappearing into the wind and rain after a heated argument that had shattered the peace and shaken the walls, but not before shaking his broken girlfriend even more. 

Her heart wouldn't slow down, her breathing wouldn't break and her pulse was rocketing as she felt her cheeks grow wet but she couldn't find a way to wipe the tears away. Her arms weren't hers, her legs wouldn't move, and everything felt numb. That's how Schwoz found her after investigating the bellowing roars that echoed their way to his bedroom.

That was ten minutes ago and she'd been sobbing into his shoulder ever since he'd asked what was wrong and she spilt the whole truth, his arms rubbing her back soothingly. 

Schwoz knew that he wasn't the one she needed, but he didn't know where Ray was. He must've heard the argument, the screaming, the pleading from the girl for her boyfriend not to do what he was gonna do - it was impossible not to - but he had still yet to show his face. (y/n) needed the comfort only he could provide because he had grown to be her best friend, not that they'd realised it yet, but they were close. Close enough to make Schwoz question whether Drex was really the one for her.

"Hey, hey! Why's everybody shouting in my Man Cave?" Thank god that annoying voice was here. 

Ray came trotting down from the sprocket once he'd decided that his curious nature couldn't wait any longer, and he tiptoed out of his bedroom to see where all the noise was coming from. 

It had all sounded rather angry and raging and not something he'd usually poke his unwanted head into, but then, everything had become so quiet and still, he couldn't stay away from it. And he was so glad he hadn't because the sight that greeted him on the couch made his mouth grow dry and his heart clench.

Schwoz looked up at him; by God, the expression on his face was nearly the most shocking thing in the room. Nearly. 

Now, Schwoz would never be known for being grumpy; in fact, he was one of the most easygoing, weirdest guys around and he loved cracking jokes and making faux pas, so to see him with a deadly serious face was striking. His lips were a straight line, his eyes weren't laughing and when his gaze returned to the sobbing woman in his arms, that's when Ray saw the most shocking thing.

Her body was rocking from the force of her gulps for air and every sob shook her frame, a terrible thing he'd never experienced before. Sure, he'd seen her sad and cry after burning her finger on a soldering iron, but that was nothing a hug or one of those dumb romcoms could solve. This was very different; this he didn't know how to solve. 

Everything he knew made her smile paled when he paired it with her grief, so all he did was carefully move down the stairs, minimising the ruffling of his clothes since the situation felt too delicate for noise, except for his soft whispering. "What happened?"

(y/n) said nothing, merely shook her head like the explanation would kill her if she told him, but really, the sobs were the thing stop her from speaking, choking up her throat and silencing her. 

She couldn't tell him, it would break him to know what she'd caused and even if it seemed selfish, she didn't want to be cast out, so she just stared at the damp patch she'd made on Schwoz's overalls. The genius knew that if it were hard for her to tell him then telling Ray, the man she idolised and adored, would be near impossible.

Gently pulling away from her, he coaxed the fragile girl into slipping her hands into his, which made her sleeves ride higher on her arms and that's when Ray saw the bruises - the product of Drex's anger and his holding of her wrists too tightly.

His heart stopped, genuinely skipped a beat and not in a good way. The thing he couldn't wrap his head around was how she'd come to harm; his friend stayed in the Man Cave where she was always safe from his enemies, madmen and anyone else with a cruel personality and standing guard with her was him, a goddamn superhero, and Drex, his sidekick, who was on the brink of making his crime-fighting debut. Schwoz didn't really count as a protector, but he still cared. They all did, right? So where had they come from?...

"(y/n/n), I need you to tell me what happened," Ray said slowly, coming to kneel in front of her just as Schwoz had and his hands laid over hers. Their warmth melted her panic; despite the shiver that ran through her body when his fingertips ran over the purple skin that had bloomed halfway down her forearm and the worry in his eyes stunned her, she still said nothing. 

"It's okay. You don't have to be afraid. Just tell me who hurt you, and me and Drex will hunt them down."

The mention of that name made another tear slip down her face and Ray didn't know if that was good or bad. He guessed bad. He didn't want to assume, but he knew the shouting was about something. Something had been up with his sidekick recently, but his heart wasn't ready to give up on the guy he'd picked to be his companion, so he managed to persuade his mind that all the shouting had been Drex's outrage, his horror at finding out his girl had been hurt by someone. 

Yeah, that was it; he wasn't around, not because he was a cruel, heartless bastard who'd left the sweetest girl in the world to cry alone, he had gone out to bring the guilty one to justice, a little rash, but Ray could understand. He wanted to go rip someone apart too, but he couldn't imagine who it really was. 

Schwoz knew that (y/n) wanted to protect Drex, and keep their team or "family" together, but honestly, what they had wasn't a family, not when one of the central figures had committed an atrocity and cracked the foundations. 

"That's the problem, doofus. He's not here...because he's the one who did this." She whispered in a hoarse voice, feeling the words burn whatever was left of her heart...and her love for him. 

How could she love Drex now? She could lie to herself as much as she wanted, tell herself that everything was okay and it was just a bad mood, but that was dumb—really fucking dumb and when she looked down at the marks he'd given her in anger, they just screamed at her that it was over. Thank fuck for that. 

"W-what?" Ray gasped, refusing to let his fingers tighten and make her injuries worse, but he was still growing pale and breathless, similar to how Schwoz had but much, much worse. 

Drex, her boyfriend, his sidekick, the one who was supposed to love her, keep her safe, protect her from anything that could upset or harm her, had done this? His mind was swirling with confusion, but mostly anger at how he could break every rule in the boyfriend book and lay a hand on the sweetest girl in existence, the girl he'd sell a kidney for if it meant he got to have one day with the privilege of being her lover. He was desperate to get a second glance, yet there he was, giving her bruises. What the actual fuck?

"I-I don't don't know, he's just been so angry lately, darker if that makes sense. Every night I can hear him talking about how they'll all pay and then nothing will stop him... Not even Captain Man." (y/n) explained quietly, seeing the way the muscles and tendons in his arms flexed and tensed in tandem with the twitching of the vein on his temple, two clear signs that his fury was growing. 

Oh god, was that because of what she'd confessed? His silence fanned the flames of her panic and she stumbled to add an explanation, believing that that was what he was waiting for. 

"Please, I don't want to get him in trouble, but I'd never lie to you."

"It's okay. It's not your fault," Ray mumbled once the gears in his head finally whirred to life again after their brief short-circuiting. He wasn't sure what was in his head, didn't know if it was wise to run off pure rage alone, but the fear on her face and the way her cheeks had grown splotchy from dried tears and smeared mascara was enough to spur him into action. 

Before he knew what he was doing, he leaned forward and planted a firm, loving kiss against her forehead before standing up, meaning he didn't see her blushes or how her mouth ghosted a smile.

"Schwoz, stay here, keep (y/n) safe. I need you to look after the place while I'm gone." The hero stated, drawing a stoic "aye" from the genius as he put his hand on the woman's shoulder, watching as he saw an idea form behind his steely eyes. He never thought it would come to this, never thought that he would have to do what he was planning on doing, but it had been coming for a while and if Drex wanted a fight then he could have one. He gladly give him a beating for what he'd done to the woman he...liked.

"Where are you going?" (y/n) asked, following his movements with tired eyes and wondering why he was heading for the tube pads with his gumball tube in hand. 

No, he couldn't leave, he couldn't go. Drex was out there, purposefully looking for a battle, but he looked so determined. He was indestructible. No one else was; if anyone could take him on, it was Ray, who'd come out unscathed, but that didn't mean the sight of him going was any easier. He was special to her and she was only just seeing that...

"I'm gonna go stop that bastard, so he can't hurt you or anyone else ever again," Ray growled, pausing briefly before shoving a gumball in his mouth. Just looking at her gave him the courage he needed to go fight his equal in strength; even after sobbing her heart out, hair and face messy, she was so damn beautiful and he knew that he'd take on the whole world if it meant he could keep her safe. 

She'd be okay here and he could either come home to her and nurse her wounds or somehow die knowing he did his best trying to be the kind of man she deserved. Either way, she'd be safe and that was his solemn promise.

~

No one spoke. Silence hung over everything, threatening to crush the moment and all its preciousness. 

The teens had never known the full story. They'd only been given tidbits of the darkness that lurked in their past. They were troubled just as much as the adults were, finally knowing the extent of the damage done by Drex, which added another reason to the pile of why they hated him, and for a good, long while, the group stayed silent. Each of them reflected on the past and how it resounded again in the present only hours ago when they lived part two of the nightmare.

"Y'know, that was the night I realised I was falling for you. I knew I'd felt things before, but when you ran off to go beat him up, I couldn't stop it anymore." (y/n) was the first to speak, recalling the same night with a slight frown that morphed into a fond smile when she recalled how the bitterness turned sweet. 

It would be a few more months, maybe a year before she realised that she was fully head over heels, never to fall out, in love with him, but that was the first time she truly felt the fluttering that only comes once in a lifetime. The fluttering of finding your soulmate. 

"Anyone who'd drop everything to go and face that insane monster is crazy...and the one for me, even if it did take ten years to finally say it."

"I was terrified you didn't feel the same way," Ray mumbled with a smile, remembering the utter terror that ran through his past self whenever he thought about confessing. Just the memory made his palms grow sweaty against the box, but then it was eased by the memory of the day when he came out with it and received the answer he'd only dreamed of.

"I was too. You were the hot, older, more outgoing boss and I thought you'd never look at me that way." She chuckled, recalling how she'd spent nights groaning into a pillow at how her heart wouldn't let her useless, pointless love go, believing Ray saw her as a mere friend, or god forbid, a sister. 

Little did she know that he was in a similar situation two doors down, trying to tell his mind to stop thinking about her and go to sleep since it was looking for love where there was none. (y/n) saw him as a mere friend, or god forbid, a brother. 

They always ended up with her feigning a nightmare and hopping down the hall to sneak into his bed. He pretended to be annoyed at having to scooch over, but his petty complaints were silenced when she snuggled into his side and settled in for sleep. Then, they always woke up in a tight embrace, his lip brushing her forehead whilst she practically laid on him with her entire body. 

They couldn't sleep unless they were together. Hadn't that been a clue on how they both felt?

"I think I've always known that I love you. Even when we first met, I felt something I'd never felt before and I kick myself every time I remember a moment where I could feel how much I love you but I never said anything" He said, having thousands of memories, but somehow, the mundane ones stuck the most...

~

"Mi vida, te necesito! Maria, I love you!" The man onscreen shouted at his mirror, not caring if his neighbours thought he was weird. He just needed to get it out into the open and it proved highly entertaining for the viewers, namely being, (y/n) and Ray. 

Well, she was watching, he wasn't, not really; firstly, it wasn't his kind of movie, secondly, she was lying in his lap and thirdly, he much preferred to take the golden opportunity of playing with her hair. Years had passed since Ray had fought Drex and scraped a win, crawling home battered but alive and in all that time, they had only fallen deeper in love. Now, they were central to a proper family, who were all waiting for the moment when they saw just how much they loved each other.

It was her natural movie-watching position, stretching her legs and torso out along the couch, which left her head on his legs and his hands with one place to go, her silky locks. She was busy giggling at the crappy jokes filtered into the plot every five seconds and that meant that she was distracted from the dreamy look on his face and how it took every fibre of restraint he had not to bend over a trail of kisses from her temple and around to those lips, which were probably even sweeter than he imagined from the popcorn she'd been snacking on. 

Ray didn't care about the rom-com. It was dumb, really fucking dumb, something about two office workers or maybe two nuclear reactor researchers; he wasn't sure, but either way, they were stupid and she was way more interesting. 

He didn't know how one person could be so perfect, it shouldn't have been possible and he didn't know if it was possible to be in love with a moment, just them together. It didn't matter; he was in love with her either way. That's all he knew. 

It was dangerous to wander in his thoughts, he often got lost in them and he was terrified that his mind might go on autopilot and do or say something he'd regret, but he couldn't help it and secretly, she was thinking the same. 

Fuck, his fingers felt so good scraping across her scalp and she was trying to stay awake as they dragged through the tangles and knots, causing her to shiver. 

She often wondered if there was any possibility that he could feel the same, dared to let her heart dream and reach out for his, only for it to stumble when he turned to someone else and then another someone and another and so on. It was a fantasy, so as always, she delved into a fabricated romance to satiate her need for it, her eyes refocusing on the movie as Maria and Rafael flirtatiously bantered at the photocopier. 

"Do you think those two are stupid?" (y/n) asked, chewing slowly on a piece of popcorn as the lead woman blushed and batted her eyelashes, but when she got no answer, she was suddenly distracted again. How had he not heard her? 

Little did she know that Ray had been telling himself not to kiss her exposed shoulder after sweeping her hair to the side, the unblemished skin shimmering under the light from the TV. When she called his name softly, his mind snagged that she'd been talking and he'd not been listening, too caught up in his heartbreakingly unrequited love to realise it. "Wha-what did you say?"

At his stuttering, she rotated her body, turning from her side so she laid flat on her back, the back of her head laying on his thighs so she looked directly at him. He gazed down at her with innocent eyes, hoping that she didn't accuse him of ignoring her because that really wasn't the case, the exact opposite in fact. 

But, thank god, she smiled, causing him to relax; she thought that like the doofus he was, he'd zoned out from the lameness of her rom-com and had been thinking about what they needed to do tomorrow, one of his lucky dates or just stuff in general, definitely not because he was daydreaming about her as she had about him, no way. 

"I said, doof, do you think that Maria and Rafael are stupid for not realising they're in love?"

That made him stop and glance back at the movie, where the workday had ended and the guy was walking his girl home since it had fallen dark and he wanted her safe. He knew what she was talking about vaguely, having kept one ear open since he was a superhero and that's what he had been trained to do, and when he thought about it and saw how Maria gazed at old what's-his-face, he agreed.

"Yeah, they must be. He buys her coffee every morning and she turns down guys to have Chinese takeout at his apartment. They must be really dumb, sweet girl." He grinned, watching as her face contorted into an unreadable expression, making him pray that he'd watched enough of the story to make some good points, which she valued from her viewing partners.

"Oh my god, you have been watching!" (y/n) squealed, leaning up on her elbows and giving him a brief hug, the burn in her core muscles not mattering since she got to feel the slightest stubble scrape against her cheek and neck. The sensation combined with the elation that came from the knowledge that he'd been paying attention and she felt drunk from the ensuing happiness, leading to them giddily laughing with each other as the movie played on without them. 

It didn't matter. That wasn't real, no matter how many speeches Rafael made in the mirror or how many dates Maria turned down because her man was waiting. What was real was the love between them, burning brightly as they laughed at the characters and how unrealistic they were.

"Yeah, they're real dumb." She continued, feeling the warmth in her heart when he'd fed her another piece of popcorn, which led to her hand stroking his cheek, rubbing over his cheekbone with such fondness it made him want to close his eyes. But he didn't want to miss a single moment either. "I mean, who can't tell when someone's that in love with you?"

Oh, the irony.

~

That drew some laughs, most of them coming from Schwoz, Henry, Jasper and Charlotte as they teased the adults for being so dumb and ignoring all of the advice and incessant encouragement they'd given them over the years.  Schwoz had suffered the longest, watching the ember grow into a blazing inferno that warmed the entire family, but the kids had suffered the worst of it, seeing how desperate they'd grown towards the end and that had rubbed off on them, but all's well that ends well for them to end up together, even if they had been basically laughing that the movie versions of themselves.

"I'm glad we told each other in the end, though. I was gonna explode if I had left it any longer, sweet girl." Ray smiled, the long, lonely nights becoming worth it since he now had her in his bed at night, not just because she had a fake nightmare, but because she belonged there. He belonged there. It all felt completely right like it had been written in the stars.

"Me too, doofus, me too..." (y/n) shared his pleasant gaze, not even noticing how tight his right fist was clenching or how he had a slight nervous sheen on his forehead, so she just moved to turn the chair back around, plenty of scrolling left for her to do. The trip down memory lane was probably a result of exhaustion, her, him and Henry feeling the strain of post-mission tiredness looming over them and consequently, his mind was losing its ability to constrain the good times as well as the bad. 

But after so many years together, he still knew how to shock her and really, he wasn't tired at all. In fact, he was finally ready to go. He'd had a chance to reflect on how they met, how their love grew and laid dormant and ignored for aeons, but now, he knew how she felt and how he felt; he was ready to say it.

"I know and that's why I'm certain, sweet girl." He called out, making her eyebrows knit together when she heard him, wondering what the hell he meant by that. 

"What do you mean cert—?" Leaving the computer alone since her curiosity had been piqued, she turned in the chair again, rotating one-eighty degrees and seeing the most awe-inspiring, jaw-dropping, goddamn perfect sight that she'd ever been blessed with. 

Using the stealth that a six-foot man could only achieve through years of study and training as a superhero, Ray had taken one step forward, feeling like his legs were made out of jelly, but all the same, he was able to take a deep breath and sink to one knee. He brought the box up to the right height, cracking open the lid to reveal the gleaming ring inside - the tiniest, most delicate piece of treasure and it was all hers if she would take it.

Gobsmacked, speechless, every word in the dictionary could barely describe the thundering of her heart and the barren desert that her mind turned into when she saw him kneeling there, close enough to touch, not that she could actually move. 

All she could manage to do was raise a trembling hand to cover her mouth, concealing her choked gasps and tiny hiccups as tears pooled in her eyes upon seeing the ring, the pure love in his gaze and how he was also on the verge of crying. They were both lost in trepidation, her body shutting down and feeling alive all at the same time, but strangely enough, his hands weren't shaking, the velvet box perfectly level as it hovered in front of her, another trait gained from a lifetime of working under pressure.

The others could feel the buzz in the air, trying not to squeal or jump when it zapped their skin and electrified their nerves, making them want to clutch each other and shout something. They didn't though. They stuck to their promise and stayed as invisible spectators, despite the couple forgetting that they were there entirely. 

The group could've made noise or moved around, but the couple probably wouldn't have noticed. For them, it was just the two of them at that moment, protected by a bubble of love that kept her breathing even though (y/n) felt like she couldn't. The young woman wanted to say something and tried to command her tongue to garble a response or a noise, but she couldn't, leaving him to say everything his heart wanted.

"I had a whole speech planned out for when I finally got the guts to do this but I don't need it. I just know...You're the one for me, sweet girl. Always have been." Ray started, forgoing everything he had written down and practised in the mirror because it was just him and her. No audience, no one to impress, just their little family and he realised that nothing with her had to be scripted. He knew exactly how he felt and what her love meant to him.

"You've done so much for me. Changed me, made me a better man, just by being you and being here with me." He was surprised by how calm his voice was, how it stayed level and smooth despite how his heartbeat seemed to be stampeding through his body and causing everything to seemingly rattle inside of him.

"No one's ever stuck around, but you have. I drive you insane with my crazy ideas and my stupid mouth and sometimes I don't know why you stay but I'm so damn glad you do." The tears were close to falling for both of them, but he told himself that he had to stay strong and keep his voice steady, even though he had long since learned that with her, he didn't need to be tough all the time. Sadness, vulnerability and tears were okay, she taught him that, but still, he had so much left to say.

"What I do know is that I'm not always the man you deserve, god knows you deserve the world, but I promise that for the last eleven years, I have wanted nothing but for you to be happy and safe and loved, things that I thought you couldn't be with me." He had no idea where he was going with it all and some might have said that he was rambling, going off-topic to hide his nerves, but to her, to everyone listening, it was shaping up to be perfect.

"But I want to be the one to give them to you because I love you so fucking much, with everything I've got, no matter who I am. You don't just see Captain Man. You see me...all of me."

"There's gonna be no one else for me. This is it. No one else could ever be my wife. So please, give me the honour...(y/n) (y/l/n), will you marry me?" He asked in a steady, quiet voice, eyes hopeful and feeling like the world was caving in on him as the few seconds passed like millennia, his fingers pinching the ring box so they wouldn't shake too much now that the question was out and his fear was running rampant. 

A tear dropped from her eyes as her trembling hand slowly lowered from her mouth, the emotion and utter surprise of the moment causing her throat to seize up, making him falter for a split second. His heart clenched at the sight of her tears and he took her silence and strained expression to mean that she didn't want this, she didn't want him, fuck it was too soon, he knew it. 

The pristine serenity he'd built around them began to crumble and whilst he regretted the day he thought this was a good idea, she swallowed, lubricating her vocal cords so they'd actually start working and he braced himself for his demise but...

"Yes..." (y/n) said hoarsely, barely able to the two syllables out from how raw her throat seemed to be and the tiny sound made his head snap up from where it had been drooping slightly from what he took to be rejection. His lips parted, one, two, three breaths leaving them before she carried on, her head clear of the tidal wave that had drowned her senses and numbed her brain. "Yes, a million times, yes!"

Her delighted cries snapped him out of his fleeting heartache and his face broke out into a huge grin, childlike and carefree laughter leaving their lips as he giddily plucked the ring from its plush cushion and held it between his forefinger and thumb. Relief and pure, shining happiness flooded him, and his hand reached for her left one as it rested on the edge of the computer's chair. With her loving eyes gazing into his, he brought the delicate band to her ring finger, sliding it down until it snugly reached the base, a perfect fit.

"Oh my god, I love you," Ray mumbled as he stood to his full height, pulling her up with him so their lips could meet in the sweetest kiss they'd ever shared, the tears lowly freely down her face as she brought her hands up to cup his cheeks, the ring's cool gold brushing against his skin. 

Neither wanted to let go, perfectly content to drown in their love and the thought of an entire future spent together until reality crept back in and they realised that they were being given a whole standing ovation, Henry, Schwoz, Jasper and Charlotte beaming proudly as they applauded the scene. 

They'd never seen anything so precious, pure and right, and their cheers and whoops were genuine, their happiness matching that being radiated from the lovestruck, blushing couple, who pulled apart to share the moment with their closest friends, one of whom wasn't taking the emotion as well as the others.

"Henry, are you crying?" (y/n) gasped as she fanned her own wet cheeks and caught her breath. She wasn't close to fainting yet, although Ray would be there to catch her if she did. He'd always be there now, always by her side as it was meant to be. 

His bemused smirk was directed towards the kid, who was furiously wiping the crystalline droplets away, sniffing like nothing was wrong but everyone could see how moved he was, how damn happy he was for the both of them and they understood that. Hell, they were on the verge themselves.

"Nah, man. It's liquid pride. I don't cry..." The boy fibbed, making them all chuckle as Schwoz stepped forward and shook Ray's hand, a few firm shakes exchanged before he yanked the man into a tight hug. A surprisingly strong move for one so small, but nevertheless, Ray returned it happily as his sweet girl, his fiancée, hugged Henry, Charlotte and Jasper in turn, admiring her newly beloved ring over their shoulders each time. 

It was simple yet detailed and small but beautiful and everything she could have ever asked for, the greatest gift she'd ever received from the greatest man she'd ever known.

"I love it. I love you." She whispered to her fiancé once they'd been congratulated fully and allowed to return to each other's arms, the diamonds sparkling under the blinding lights as Ray ran his thumb over it. It felt so right that it was on her finger, a promise between them that they were gonna make the ultimate commitment and he couldn't wait for that. Why had he been so afraid? This was bliss...

"I can't wait to marry you, sweet girl," Ray told her earnestly, lifting her hand to kiss the ring as she teared up again and stepped closer, pressing herself against him completely like she needed his warmth to live. All these years and he could still floor her, make her ball her eyes out and find something new to love. This man...her Ray, the one she had waited a lifetime for through heartache and hardship, now she just had him and their love, perfect.

"I can't wait either, my handsome doofus." She replied, smiling as she kissed him again to more applause, her safe in his arms as their family celebrated their love. They laid down their teasing and faux annoyance just this once, inevitably going to return to it once it had sunk in, but the moment could be left alone for a while because they didn't want to groan. They didn't want to roll their eyes or retch; they wanted it to always be like this. 

Just them. Those two. Those lovey-dovey idiots. Ray Manchester and (y/n) (y/l/n). Captain Man and Miss Danger. Fiancé and fiancée. The hero and his helper.

[friendlessghoul]

So.. This was an Ask I received and accidentally deleted, but they were asking about why the titles were describing scenes, were there missing scenes and how could scenes be missing.

I just want to say I'm not exactly an expert in this but I can try and explain best to my knowledge.

(and oh my god this turned out very long)

There's various reasons why silent films have missing footage. One is just due to the film decaying; nitrate film was highly flammable and if not stored properly would get gunky and film would become ruined in parts. Sometimes they were able to save pieces of the film.

The early motion-picture industry primarily used film stock made of nitrocellulose, commonly called nitrate film. This film is flammable and produces its own oxygen supply as it burns. Nitrate fires burn rapidly and cannot be extinguished, as they are capable of burning even under water.[1] Nitrocellulose is also subject to thermal decomposition and hydrolysis, breaking down over time in the presence of high temperatures and moisture. This decaying film stock releases nitrogen oxides that themselves contribute to the decay and make the damaged film burn more easily. Under the right conditions, nitrate film can spontaneously combust. In part because of substantial variability in the manufacturing of early film, considerable uncertainty exists about the circumstances necessary for self-ignition.[1] Sustained temperatures of 100 °F (38 °C) or higher, large quantities of nitrate film, increased humidity, poor ventilation, and aged or decaying film have all been considered risk factors. Most such fires in film archives have taken place in heat waves during summers, in closed facilities with limited ventilation, compounding several of these variables. Especially in confined areas, such fires can result in explosions. (source)

For the life of me I cannot find this next part of information, but *someone* was helping Buster transfer his nitrate films to preserve them to better film (I think that's what it was) that he had and went to some business for help. The guy flipped at them bringing nitrate films inside, and the guy begged him to do it saying something along the lines of- you see that guy out there? That's Buster Keaton and we need to preserve these films. Feeding them through the machines was difficult and slow because it kept clogging up the machines (and I think broke one?). There was also censorship problems. I noticed was with the Arbuckle/Keaton films, Chicago was either really strict or their records were really well kept. (idk) The Rough House - The Chicago Board of Censors cut the scene showing the theft of beads from the film.

Oh Doctor! -The Chicago Board required a cut of the scene where a man is pulling a women's skirt up to her knees.

Coney Island - The Chicago Board of Censors required a cut of a scene with a girl raising her dress above her knee. The original ending was considered racist by the mid-1920s and was cut from the film. Out West - the Chicago Board of Censors required a cut of the scene of arrows in man's back and their removal, man burning back with gas flames, and the shooting of the bartender.

Good Night, Nurse! - (this ones my favorite) - the Chicago Board of Censors cut, in Reel 1, Arbuckle kicking woman, Arbuckle putting foot on woman's posterior, and Arbuckle pulling dress off woman and exposing her figure. (the woman that Roscoe puts his foot on is Buster)

In the instance of Coney Island, we do have copies of both endings. (they're also on the DVDs). Now we have most of these despite the censorships, but that isn't always the case with other films. Moonshine was very fragmented, there were two types, one that was crisp with missing pieces, and a more complete print that was blurry and looks more like a negative. (there's also a lot of title cards which seems unusual to me)

Daydreams is...a mess.. there's still missing pieces of that film. "A restoration effort in 1995 recovered most of the footage, substituting stills and titles to fill the viewer in on the missing scenes." (source)

During that time, they would often describe the entire film in a review (they apparently didn't care about spoilers), which gives us a better idea of what happened in the films. In this case, Daydreams has a missing scene where Buster is working in a hospital.

Hard luck was a lost film until 1987, but even then they didn't have the ending gag that Buster called the greatest laugh-getting scene of his career. It was later discovered in a Russian archive print, I believe they found that in the mid 90s, and it's distorted (as you can see). There's also other instances like with The Navigator. Often they would preview films to audiences in towns to gauge how the film would perform. If it fell flat (like Seven Chances had) they go back and edit or add scenes. With the Navigator there are mentions in reviews of a scene-

"Then I started fixing the leak, but a school of fish came by, all going in the same direction except one poor little fish who tried and tried to cross their track and couldn't. I, seeing its plight, picked up a starfish, put it on my chest, whistled, and held up my hand at the school of fish. They stopped, I motioned the little fish to cross, he swam by, then I turned and signaled the school to pass on. They all went by, and I returned to the leak." (A Filmmakers Life- James Curtis pg 259),

but in screening the film, the audience didn't react well to it, so they cut it (after several screenings, not understanding why it didn't work). But in trailers, they kept that scene because it worked better. And then there were the fires. MGM had a massive vault fire (1965), as did Fox (1937) (among many others)

The Cameraman was at one point considered a lost film, destroyed in the 1965 MGM vault fire. However, a complete print was discovered in Paris in 1968.[19] Another print, of much higher quality, although missing some footage, was discovered in 1991.[19] The two prints were combined into a version which now is available. (source)

Another case with The Cameraman was- MGM writing department used the film to train new writers as a "perfectly constructed comedy" for decades, even wearing out their print.

There's also stuff about copyright laws (not getting into that), Rohaur, who was trying to preserve Buster's films had to rewrite intertitles, add canned music and alter crucial edits made by buster and his original cutters. (A Filmmakers Life - Curtis pg 616)

SO in ending this..In the beginning of film they didn't know how important these movies would become and they were not exactly taken care of. There are still silent films being discovered in all parts of the world, fragmented, sometimes attached to other films, and in various conditions. There are restoration projects to restore all silent films, and I have seen people raise money to help aid in this. (IBKS accepts donations to help support their nonprofit organization, which includes artifact preservation.)

Uh yeah.. I'm sure this isn't everything, but I hope this helps...

[raccoon-in-a-dumpster]

Man I’m losing my mind over this shit why did NO ONE see a rabbit animatronic in a boarded up room that wasn’t on the floor plan with fucking GUTS COMING OUT OF JT and not think to LOOK INSIDE

TAKE THE SUIT OFF???

CALL THE POLICE??????

And they found tapes in there too about the hybrid ones that a person could wear and they just were like “duuude this is BITCHIN’ I can’t wait to bring it back to the attraction! The tourists are going lose their SHIT”

ITS A HEALTH HAZARD???

I’m not so upset that they didn’t think there was a weird smell; Willy boy was probably too desiccated to stink much anymore

But the??? Guts?????? The suspicious room????? My god

Then again these are the same fucking idiots that tried to make the place feel ‘vintage’ with a faulty ventilation system that would cause you to pass out and could start fires. So. Whatever I guess

Though idk how poor ventilation would start a fire. Granted, I don’t know enough about how ventilation systems work, but I feel like the main danger would be a lack of oxygen. And no oxygen means no fire. Not always, but it’s. It’ll certainly makes it harder. It might make it hotter in there, with no air circulating, but that doesn’t necessarily mean fire. Spontaneous combustion is a thing if things get hot enough, but an unventilated building shouldn’t just randomly catch fire, if that was the only problem. Not unless it was unfathomably hot outside, but at that point I don’t think humans can even be there without very special protective equipment and you wouldn’t need any kind of security guard

MAN YWAH

also. it takes place somewhere in Washington County, Utah. for reference, this is Hurricane:

and this is New Harmony:

the average summer heat in Washington County is about 91°F from June 2-September 16

plus, it wasn't just the ventilation. the wiring was faulty as well to make it "authentic" to the spooky experience.

man. mike just kept getting stuffed into deathtrap after deathtrap...

it probably didn't get too hot in the building though... as remnant (the stuff that makes the robots be posessed) burns and looses its effect if heated up (which probably influences Michael and Henry's arsonistic tendencies)

[icharchivist]

idk about granblue_en but i can tell most of the fandom does not read your blog because there is a not insignificant chunk of it that thinks Lucilius is a poor little meow meow who was justified in all the atrocities and that Belial is abusing him, actually, and i think if they came in here they would spontaneously combust

WELL. GOOD THEN?!

Honestly i prefer to stay in my corner anyway so i don't get to know what type of drama we have, but i admit i'm so surrounded by Belial stans that this surprise me a little. Or, i know a lot of people dislike Belial but i didn't expect that some of those people would be Lucilius's apologists?

Like geez who knew two people can be bad for one another in a dynamic and it's not always a case of pure villain and pure victim.

(like even my own take on it is a little more nuanced, even if i'm more partial to Belial in this situation because i feel like Lucilius is responsible for the worst aspect of their dynamics :sob: )

I'm glad to hear i'm stealthy on here then because i don't think i could cope with people starting drama in my DMs over this type of things lmao, and i'm glad instead i found a group of anons who are on the same vibe as me on this one.

But the idea of those people genuinely combusting over my ramblings is super funny so thank you for this imagery.

Man i'm so glad i don't go deep enough into the fandom to know of The Hot Takes, what a headache.

[koaly-ty]

Different Princess (Episode Reacts)

Spoilers for Different Princess from episode 21 to 23. It appears that there is still more to go......

Ep 21

is he making fireworks for her?

those bangs so cute (heart eyes)

new robes agaaaiiinn oolala

omnious person? people guess where you are going to end up when someone gets tired of your little attitude

the pale pink washes him out completely, bro get your brother to color match for you

too sweet too sweet too sweet aaaaghhhhh

well done you managed to pour water all over the romantic date he planned

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh feelings for youuu

what good news? (confusion)

princess you r the best (laughs) tease away might open her eyes to the truth, your brother will thank you

man so very happy proud touched by his intelligent wife working hard to help him

Ep 22

ah hah the plot thickens, empress u r also in this? (disapproving finger wagging)

oh boy what is mummy's boy upto?

he's got u all figured out (smirked)

spontaneous combustion…and he's dead, how can u tell what powder from a burnt corpse??

well he's got confirmation, and he's angry or upset? (cant tell)

people are hypocrites welcome to reality, nice drop (grins), also u need some color in that face, the upset seems to have brought some,

look at that cutey smile at the trust he has

oh wow heartless too much (raises eyebrow)

local man has made new year resolutions and intends to stick to them

new thought: tiny so you can carry

wow parental blackmail, u do realise where you are gonna end up, u should be glad ur daughter is competent

yeaaaaah she already has a guy in mind

ji chu= the most eligible husband material (facepalms)

new robes? wardrobe's expanding

an army in exchange for marriage, wont it look like treason?

Ah hah local man refuses, too in love with his wife

run away run away he knows u heard this is embarrassing (hides face)

arrow to the heart, his dialogue is just (clench fist mr darcy)

well it wasnt a slap (shrugs)

Ep 23

local lady holds twig for emotional support, and they are in matching colors outfits exact same white over red over white (internal screaming and dancing, couple outfits, me such a sucker for that shit)

insurance!!!!!!! (dies laughing, start a business)

Date night (sings happily)and romantic dialogue (thumbs up, two thumbs up go ji chu!!!!) fireworks and he has eyes only for you (swoons happily in this romantic cheese)

ah hopeless boy is here (shakes head sadly)

he's working up to say something, well he's done something (dies screaming happily)

father,pumpkin? why pumpkin?? her bed tantrums lol

he so soft, how you villain…..?

yaoyao i think you look better in some darker colors rather than these pastels

yes and play traitor and murderer in their husband's house

u tried to marry me off to my bestie's husband……….confusion face, indignation!

she told his mother about him, and she proposed marrying her to prince three

the princess is having such a good time, me happy for her, she best girl

this kid is asking for death, such a brat who taught him this (shock face)

his voice so soft to the kid

bro u are never going to get a more peaceful confrontation about the fact u have a kid, she's not going anywhere she's not even gonna divorce u over this or give you any shit she's just accepted she's a stepmom now and she's just like hit me, how many are there (rofl)

(face in hands breathes deeply, i've passed away) who who who gave him those lines i cant tell if they need an award or to go yeet them off a cliff for the second hand embarrassment they are inflicting on us poor viewers

local man trying to induce jealousy in wife, bro she wrote you what do you mean? every thought of yours were her thoughts

bro looks alone

whats with the hesitation

that red dress from certain angles the front top inside looks nude

this brat is a flatterer

look who's moved on (stares judgementally)

why do you sound like you are announcing a funeral, did u think she would be upset you are getting married, bro u r the only one waiting here she's living her best life

yeah look who's moved on, u lying lier, stop looking so transparently delighted that she might be upset at losing you, this is just pathetic i can read you and i suck at understanding expressions

hah u r the least of her concerns, in fact u dont exist, yaoyao is her fav, how does that feel bro (smirks)

lady i get you are caught up in your head that this is your story brought to life but how do u not see his upset disappointed face

and u, how dare you lead yaoyao on like this (angry hissing)

he's still alive (shocked pikachu face)

his heart is gonna give out…..gone for good….?….?….?

murder bestie you are still watching for that ungrateful friend of urs (eyes filling with happy tears)

[oceangirl24]

Saudade: Interlude-Suspicions

While Shawn and his family try to relax in Philadelphia; in New York, Eli realizes there's something off in his relationship with Katherine. Yancy terminates Eddie from his scheme with direct threats to his health if he causes a problem, leaving one very angry and resourceful "brother" of Shawn to do what he sees fit where Jon is concerned.

Darting between the cars to cross the street, Eddie disappeared into a dark alley and reappeared three blocks down on Boynton Avenue. A few more crisscrossing of streets brought him to a motel with no name in the middle of a block of condemned buildings.

The motel was still. The "owner" was in a back room passed out from either alcohol or drugs. He headed to his room at the end of the dark hall where one lone light on the wall flickered on and off, sporadically illuminating the thick cobwebs encasing it.

His room was as dim as the rest of the building and just as filthy and depressing. It was sparsely furnished with a card table and a folding chair. The metal bed frame was rusted from the leaking of liquid from the floor above and the stained mattress with only a bottom sheet had seen too many horrors to recount. One exposed light bulb hanging over the card table provided the only light in the room.

Eddie traveled light. He had no clothes but what he wore and no baggage but the knife in his pocket.

And a locked box under the floorboards.

And a picture.

The bulb's light was only slightly more stable than the one in the hall, but it swung on its four exposed wires due to the draft in the room from poor insulation. On each swing, it lit up the photo that was pinned to the decaying wall.

Eddie had as much information on the family of the teen in the photo as Yancy did, but the assistant principal didn't know this. He had given strict rules not to open the stolen files after all.

Eddie had ignored him.

In the locked box beneath the floorboards was all the information on Yancy and Turner he had. Now that he was a freelance agent, he could sell this information to the highest bidder.

The highest bidder… A wicked grin lit his face.

Yancy, he knew, had access to significant amounts of money as his own lavish lifestyle was funded through embezzlement, bribery, and blackmail.

But Turner…

His baby brother's family lived in one of the richest neighborhoods in the City and he knew his "father's" family had pockets so deep Yancy would spontaneously combust when he found out the extent of that wealth. At some point, Eddie knew Yancy would seek out the elder Turners and discover this on his own.

Standing several feet away from the photograph with his back to it, Eddie took the switchblade out of his pocket and began to play with it.

How much money does Daddy have, baby brother? he wondered as he ran his thumb over the blade of his knife. Slowly he turned to stare at the picture of "his brother".

"I think it's time I met the old man," he whispered to Shawn's picture. With the reflexes of a cat, Eddie embedded the knife into Shawn's left cheek.

Read the Rest:

AO3 FFN WattPad

[ponds-of-ink]

Notre Dame AU “Interlude” Chapter: The Press Conference

So, while we wait for more info on SB’s Ruin DLC, here’s a little “filler” chapter that takes place between Chapter 7 and Chapter 8.

I might write the rest of the fanfic and hope that I’m onto something, but I dunno. We’ll see.

–

A large crowd of reporters and civilians gathered around a small stage. Chattering flooded the room as two people climbed onto the stage. One in a t-shirt and khakis, the other in a mildly colorful business suit. “We’re almost ready to get started,” the one in the t-shirt casually announced through a cheap microphone. “If you could quiet down and let those with actual questions line up down the middle, that’d be great.”

The one in business clothes anxiously eyed the crowd. She exhaled deeply as she closed her eyes. “It’s all right, Jessie,” she thought to herself. “Just remember to answer straightforwardly this time. Fazbear is counting on you to get these facts out there before any dumber rumors start.”

“..Today we’ve got Jessica S. Turner, head spokeswoman of the Fazbear’s Kingdom department,” the casual one stated, lazily reading a small piece of paper. “For legal reasons, Fazbear Entertainment would like to clarify that any and all answers presented today are true to the best of the speaker’s knowledge. They are things even Miss Turner doesn’t know or even upper management, so please do not press for answers during those questions. The reasons why will be given during this questionnaire.”

Jessica walked up to the podium as the line approached. “Hello, sir,” she greeted. “What is your question?”

A young man pulled out a small Polaroid from his coat, then leaned his mic towards his mouth. “So, during the whole Festival of Tomfoolery incident, there was a small remote that messed with this.. bell ringer ghost guy,” he explained, holding up a blurry picture for the woman to see. “What is this thing and why did it give him such weird.. convulsions.. hallucinations.. Whatever made him think he was on fire.”

Jessica sighed. “That is–was– an employee-level control panel for the lantern on the clock tower,” she clarified, rolling her eyes. “One of them thought it would be ‘funny’ to make the bell ringer suffer and cranked up the heat on the lantern. Since those two are connected to each other, it didn’t take long for the same heat to reach the ghost as well. It doesn’t literally make him spontaneously combust, but it does give quite the sensation. Don’t worry about the instigator doing that again, though. He’s been properly dealt with– And, by that, I mean he’s no longer an employee.”

“Th-Thanks,” the man stammered nervously, putting the picture back in his coat pocket. “I, uh, hope the bell guy’s recovery goes well.”

“We’ll have to see,” Jessica answered with a bit more warmth, her eyes tracking the change in curious interrogators. “And what’s your question, miss?”

A woman pushed up her thick-rimmed glasses. “Who exactly is in charge in the Kingdom area?” she asked in a nasally voice. “Because this judge is doing a very poor job, if he’s the one in charge.”

”Judge Glitch was only meant an enforcer of the law,” Jessica said flatly, adjusting her bow-tie. “He was only supposed to guide the knights and tend to the bell ringer, but this whole Gregory thing has made him go off the rails– Or more off the rails than usual, given some recent accusations. Due to Fazbear Entertainment wanting to abandon the establishment, however, it would not surprise me if he’s made himself the ‘king’ of that area.”

“Does this closure mean that no one is allowed to step inside?”

“Yes, it is closed to the general public,” Jessica responded. “However, management has decided to send a friend of Gregory’s back into the building for inspection. And, before you get any ideas, it was the girl’s choice to volunteer. I’m not sure why either, as that particular meeting did not involve me.”

The nasally-voiced woman simply nodded in acknowledgement and walked away. Another woman with a two-toned shirt took her place. “On behalf of every fan of Sun’s Traveling Wagon, I have to ask,” she prefaced as she smoothed out her platinum blonde hair. “What happened to Sun? Is he okay? Did he.. Did he survive?”

Jessica grinned. “Well, that I can answer right away,” she said cheerfully. “We have a few recent reports that state that Sun is safe and sound. He’s a little worse for wear, but he is surprisingly intact. We’re not sure where he is currently, but he was spotted hiding out in the employee’s lounge at Fazer-Blast on the night of the fire.”

The blonde stared wide-eyed for a moment, as if trying to imagine what that must’ve been like. However, a joyful smile partially returns as she rushes out of the line. While she returns to some friends on the side lines, another person steps up. He flips a page in his notebook and readies his pen. “Given that Sun is ‘alive’, I guess I’ll follow up with the obvious,” he began nonchalantly. “Does this apply for all four of your main stars? Or Vanessa and Gregory, as they were last seen with Freddy?”

Jessica bit her lip. “Those reports for those were.. less glowing,” she said slowly, her hand now rubbing the back of her neck. “Three of the four were noted to have been heavily damaged by the fire, while Freddy and Gregory have seemingly vanished into thin air. Same goes for Vanessa, for obvious reasons. We have received transmission from someone who sounds like Gregory, but it could be anyone down there.” She paused to let the man finish his frantic scribbling. “Do you need me to give you a more concise version of that answer?” she asked.

“No, ma’am,” the man replied as he shut his book. “I’ve got everything I need. Thank you.” He left quickly and quietly, making the line move up. A little girl jumped into an older person’s arms, waited until she was close to the mic, then clumsily grabbed the device . “Is the ghost man okay?” she asked slowly. “My brother got really worried about him. He said something about the grumpy bunny doing really mean something to him.”

“For all I know, the ‘ghost man’ is doing okay,” Jessica answered gently, leaning forward a little. “We haven’t seen any reports about any sad ghosts or very angry bunnies. The best we’ve got is a really big mess of wires and a new bunny tangled up in it.”

“Do you think that bunny needs help?”

“I.. don’t know,” Jessica murmured thoughtfully. “I’ll have to check with the team that’s sending Gregory’s friend.”

The girl gave a “thank you”, then hopped off her caretaker’s arm. A man in a clean-cut suit strolled up and took the microphone. “Speaking of Gregory,” he said straightforwardly, “I’m sure there’s one more thing we need to discuss: those charges of his that were mentioned on those uncovered recordings of that night. As there is a chance of Gregory being framed and/or manipulated by some unseen enemy of the company, will those charges be dropped?”

“If you are referring to the.. ‘disappearances’, then yes,” Jessica replied with a nod. “We have uncovered evidence of Gregory in the latter category. But, as of now, all charges might be dropped on account of him possibly being dead due to a number of potential fire-related injuries. This is why this upcoming inspection is crucial for this branch of Fazbear Entertainment.”

The crowd murmured. Some, approving the logic. Others, raising the obvious concern of a random boy being dead. One in particular raised her hand. “When exactly is this inspection going to be?” she asked as loud as she could.

”If all goes well with paperwork, next week,” Jessica called out to the hand. “If not, then this upcoming month at least.”

A flurry of more safety-related questions followed, which Jessica answered much more quickly. Every remaining detail of the mall was scrutinized. Every employee that was not mentioned was assured to be at the nearby hospital or back at home job-hunting. Any and all observed things from the camera footage was clarified– Aside from a mention of a possible “ghost family” guarding the bell ringer. That one couldn’t be explained due to how corrupted the evidential footage got at certain points. Was it the bell-ringer’s imagination somehow fraying the cameras? Was it the extra ghosts protecting him from future scrutiny from the mad-rabbit? No one was sure.

By the end of three hours, all of the questioners had run their throats dry. Jessica and the one in khakis shuffled their feet as the pain in their heels stifled their thoughts. Feeling the need to call it a day, the one in khakis gently grabbed the device. “Thanks for coming out today,” he stated tiredly. “If you have any more questions, please call the construction department of Fazbear Entertainment. Or don’t, I guess.”

“Thank you for having me,” Jessica wearily called out to the crowd, waving with a weak smile. She hobbled off the stage and sat down in a nearby metal chair. As everyone else left the large conference room, the man in khakis pulled up his own seat beside her. “You did great, Miss Turner,” he said, finally showing a smile. “I would’ve had such a hard time dealing with this crowd. So many questions being thrown at once!”

“That’s just a typical Monday for me,” Jessica laughed shakily, brushing back a strand of wavy black hair. “Except I usually have to deal with a full room of reporters or just a few concerned families. I don’t think I’ve ever seen so many.. average?... people before. Just... random citizens showing concern for our characters and employees. Not to mention Gregory and Vanessa! I thought only the reporters would show up because of them, but no!”

“Well, I mean, both of them were pretty well known locally,” the man in khakis chuckled. “Gregory and his mall shenanigans, Vanessa and her whole ‘Vanny’ schtick even after you stepped in and helped her refine it.. Even this Agonia guy was the talk of the town for a while! Really got people checking out that Princess’ Perch more than they needed too.”

Jessica furrowed her brow in thought. “You don’t think..” her voice trailed as she leaned forward.

“Do I not think... What?”

“You don’t think that Agonia could.. thrive outside the bell tower, could he?”

The khakis guy scratched his brushy head. “Well, now, that’s a good question,” he replied. “I will say, given what I’ve heard today, it sounds like he’d be fine as long as that lantern doesn’t go out. Err.. Does go out? Not too sure which is right here.”

“Considering how burnt the glass must be, I’m not sure either,” Jessica hummed. “It used to be that if it went out completely, then that means he’d be completely gone. There would be nothing for his ghost to tether to, so he just vanishes. Now, however–“ She paused. Her eyes drifted upwards. “For all I know, there’s a chance that he’ll stay here even without the lantern,” she continued grimly. “And I’m starting to worry that this new wire-tied rabbit is the reason why.”

“‘Worry’, huh?” the khaki guy asked curiously, leaning forward in his folding chair. “Why? What’d be bad about that robot-bunny giving him a better body to run around in?”

“Because of who’d most likely be ‘helping’ him control it,” Jessica answered solemnly, rising from her seat. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have much to discuss with Cassie. Have a good afternoon, Mr. Woodson.”

“You too, Miss Turner!” Mr. Woodson replied joyfully, waving his can of soda in the air. He chuckled to himself as he reclined in his chair. “Poor ol’ Fazbear needs to relax,” he laughed to himself. “Far as I’ve heard, Cassie sounds like the toughest little gal in the entire town. She can handle this dumb rabbit problem in one night and then some! What’s there to worry about that?”

[sarah-dipitous]

Hellsite Nostalgia Tour 2023 Day 174

Everybody Hates Hitler/The Wedding of River Song

“Everybody Hates Hitler”

Plot Description: Sam and Dean investigate the death of a rabbi who spontaneously combusted. They soon learn that the rabbi was researching nazi necromancers

Would I Survive the First Five Minutes??: I’m not a nazi, I’m not a necromancer, I’m certainly not a nazi necromancer. I think I’m good

I’m mostly just worried that what this show is going to do is call whatever the product of necromancing that large man a golem……..

…how far in advance did the Men of Letters pay the electricity bill? Or do they have their own whatever??? Because this place has been abandoned for YEARS. THANK YOU, Sam.

Me 🤝 Dean: this thing can’t be that dangerous. (Reader, it was. But where I only mildly burned my finger on a car’s cigarette lighter, Dean cut himself with a scimitar)

I’M not denying that this dude is being followed and has some real supernatural worries goin on because *gestures broadly* BUT I can’t blame the librarian for wanting to go home shortly after closing time. Like. That’s just normal

I am BEGGING for a scene with Kevin and Garth, not just mentioning them

I AM glad that the boys have a place that isn’t just the impala to call home now

I don’t know what’s happening to him rn but…maybe he’s just growing up and college coeds are not on his radar anymore (one can hope), but Dean would normally be way more interested in what these two girls are saying…and not getting distracted by the guy subtly trying to get his attention from a distance

HE’S SO FLUSTERRRRRRED after finding out this guy thought they had a little bit of a thing when they saw each other earlier (which…I must have stepped away from the screen)

Mmm yeah, of course that guy’s still alive somehow.

*loud groan of exhaustion and disgust* I KNEW they were gonna do that…okay. I’m KEEPING MY FINGERS CROSSED FOR THE BEST HERE

Okay. At LEAST the golem seems to have been created by Jewish characters. It wasn’t super clear in the opening scene

“Everybody loves bacon” is such a 2013 sentiment

This poor guy…just had defending against the nazi necromancers dumped on his lap with zero preparation

I feel for this dude. Not only did he ask for none of this, he also was kept from a lot of his specific heritage by his parents. It’s not his fault he’s kinda helpless

Not a huge fan of seeing the nazi take control (however temporarily) if the golem, but I guess you have to raise the stakes somehow…and Aaron DID get control back, with the Winchesters’ help, but he started the attack on the thule

“The Wedding of River Song”

Plot Description: The Doctor makes his final journey to the shores of Lake Silencio in Utah

(I made a mistake and took a nap this evening and then didn’t wanna do anything else)

Awww, Charlie Dickens!! Amazing they brought him back at all/any rtd era character

The way this version of the universe is so fucking weird but I like it anyway.

Yeah, of course Moffat wrote this one. A woman is to blame for stopping time completely

Do we ever actually find out what THE question is? The FIRST question? The one that must never be answered

I’m not super familiar with the Brigadier but I’m still feeling a pang at his passing, even if it’s just in universe (I truly don’t know if that’s true)

…he replaced himself with the robot with miniaturized people on it. Right? I get that we have two actual Rivers

This episode of DW is the opposite of yesterday’s spn. Instead of a guy from the past coming to 2013 scoffing at that present, we have Winston Churchill making snide remarks to the Doctor about if he has heard of downloads

I never realized how ace-coded the Doctor can be til he told Rory that Amy called him “Mister Hottie” and would like to go out for “texting and scones”

The way she’d rather destroy all of time than kill him. It IS touching

Istg if either Amy or Rory die due to this….stop. No. Stop. You can’t kill Rory AGAIN. Oh good…Amy saves him with a machine gun. Give Karen Gillan All the Weapons Challenge 2k23

It……it IS weird they Amy tried to hook up with the Doctor all that time ago and now she’s his mother in law

Is THE question REALLY the fucking show title or are we gonna get something better than that?

(Realizing I don’t have long til the 50th anniversary special…like…by the end of next month, I think I’ll have watched it)

[literaila]

the waiter

tasm!peter x reader 

summary: 

"the waiter was flirting with you"  

"what?"

"he couldn't stop staring at you. i thought his eyes were going to fall out of his head." 

warnings: pure fluff, baby. 

"hey," peter whispers to you, a bit urgently. 

you don't look up from your menu, thinking fanciful thoughts of bankrupting peter. "hmm?" 

"we have to go." 

you look up, frowning. 

peter's got an urgent look on his face. his frown matches yours. 

if he didn't look so disturbed you might take the moment to appreciate the shirt he's wearing, sleeves rolled up past his forearm. you might even stare a little bit. 

but peter is frowning. and there is something wrong. 

"what?" you ask him, looking around. "what's going on?" 

"we have to leave." 

peter does not elaborate any further, because why would he? 

"okay..." you drawl, blinking at him. "why?" 

you look out the window to your left for any incoming disasters. if there was a possibility that anyone in this restaurant were to get hurt, you're sure peter wouldn't be just sitting there, waiting to have a conversation about death. 

but there's no monster outside. no robberies. no impending doom that he might need to tend to. 

your brow furrows even deeper. you stare at him, expectant. 

"the waiter was flirting with you," peter mutters, casting a glance toward the man on the other side of the restaurant. 

the man who you thought was perfectly pleasant, thank you very much. 

"what?" 

"he couldn't stop staring at you. i thought his eyes were going to fall out of his head." 

you snort, a bit confused. "peter," you say, a strange sort of smile on your face. "what?" 

"if i have to watch him drool all over you again, i might spontaneously combust."  

you close your menu, staring at him. 

"i'm serious, babe, we have to go." 

"we already ordered bread. and drinks." 

"i'll pay triple however much that cost. the waiter gets no tip," peter furrows his brows, considering. "okay, fine. he gets fifteen percent." 

"how chivalrous." 

"baby," peter whines, like a child. you might find it a little bit cute. "please? i'm having a hard enough time already." 

"what?" you frown. "why?" 

he blinks at you. does a slow up and down your body, raising his eyebrows. 

you think back to hands that had lingered on every inch of skin they could find on the way there. about eyes that could've burned you to the core. 

"oh," you cross your arms, self-conscious. "i thought you were kidding earlier when you said that--" 

peter stares at you blankly. 

"okay. not kidding."

his head drops down to the table, and if not for his muffled voice you might hear him groan. 

"leaf pile," you coo, softly. "i think it'll be alright. i'll even hold your hand when he comes back over." 

peter does not budge at the nickname, but you snicker internally, reaching a hand out to mess up his hair. 

he sits up, fixing it with a frown--as if it's at all salvageable. 

"is this what we've come to?" peter asks you, shaking his head. "you have to bribe me with affection? you only want to hold my hand to turn away the poor waiter--" 

"it's always been like this." 

peter points a finger at you. "not true." 

you scoff. "on our first date you tried to get me to stay up all night so we could watch the sunset--" 

"--that would've been romantic." 

"--and i had to bribe you with a goodnight kiss. just so you would let me go home." 

peter smiles like he's still pleased with himself. "you didn't want to leave. i was trying to help." 

"you just wanted to make out on the subway." 

"that's disgusting," peter says, looking away from you finally. his menu is still open, on the table, waiting to be looked at. "we could go to the diner across from your apartment."

"we went there last week." 

"great service," peter says, nonchalantly. 

"this is supposed to be a fancy date, peter." 

"what's fancier than sharing a milkshake?" 

"crème brûlée." 

peter purses his lips, a hand going to scratch at his lips. there are about ten seconds of silence. 

you use it to stare at him and wonder how he could possibly feel intimidated by anyone else. 

"fine," peter says, "we'll order dessert to go. and then we'll go get pizza." 

you open your mouth. close it. 

"you like pizza," peter reassures you. 

"i also like having a nice dinner with my boyfriend." 

"that can be arranged." 

you sigh. "even if we order dessert to go, we'll still have to talk to david again." 

peter gawks at you. "you know his name?" 

"he literally introduced himself. it was the first thing he said." 

"you remembered his name?" 

you wave a hand. "peter. you don't need to be jealous. maybe he just saw something on my face." 

peter sits back and crosses his arms. he raises an eyebrow at you, to which you smile back innocently. 

he says i know what you're doing without the words. 

"there's nothing on your face," peter says, dryly. "besides pure perfection." 

you giggle. 

peter runs a hand through his hair, shaking his head. "you're right," he relents, sighing. 

"it's okay, baby, like i said--" 

"it doesn't matter where we go," peter interrupts. "everyone's going to stare at you anyway." 

"...not where i was going with that." 

"i guess i just need to accept reality." 

"i don't think--" 

"i mean," peter finally looks you right in the eye, a hint of a smile playing on his face. "how lucky am i?" 

your face goes blank, for just a moment. 

and then, completely despite yourself, you smile at him, skin tingling at the intensity of his stare. 

of his teasing and gentle laughter as he smiles back. 

and, really, it's not your fault that you have to lean across the table to kiss him. 

he's just so goddamn irresistible. 

after a couple of seconds--and an ahem from the table beside you--you sit back down, opening your menu once again. you smile while you try and decide what to eat. 

and try to come up with the perfect way to get peter back for all of that. you've gotten as far as thanking the waiter profusely when he comes back. 

it's only a minute later when he whispers to you: 

"can i at least order the most complicated thing on the menu just to mess with him?" 

*

my masterlist here.

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